The Kovac Series - Season 1
by The Kovac Series
Summary: When a girl is rushed in after being stabbed, her twin sister tells Luka a horrifying secret. And Luka makes a choice that will change his life, and the twin's, forever. I'm on vacation for two wks, I'll update when I get back.
1. A Twin's Promise Broken

A Twin's Promise Broken.  
By: Jules  
  
DISCLAIMER: THESE CHARACTERS DO NOT BELONG TO ME. THEY BELONG TO NBC AND THE OTHER PEOPLE WHO MAKE "ER." I AM NOT RECEIVING A PROFIT FOR THESE STORIES, THEY WERE WRITTEN FOR ME AND FOR OTHER PEOPLE TO READ.  
  
  
  
Luka was walking to the admitting desk to start his shift when he bumped into Kerry.  
  
"Hi Kerri," he greeted her. "Can I help you with anything?"  
  
"Yes. There's a stabbing victim coming in. Abby's there." Kerry hurriedly told him and ran off.  
  
"It's been busy." Randi said, looking up from her computer.   
  
"I gathered that." Luka replied as he walked to the doors of the ambulance bay.  
  
He stepped outside and walked over to Abby as the screaming ambulance pulled up.  
  
"Hi Abby," Luka greeted her. "How are you?"  
  
"Fine." She answered. "You?"  
  
"Good." He said as they walked to the ambulance and opened the doors.  
  
"Abby and Luka helped the EMT take the stretcher out of the ambulance and opened the doors.  
  
"The victim is a sixteen-year-old girl. She was stabbed in the diaphragm. Her name is Mariana Watkins. Her sister, Alexandria, said that she was her father rushing out of the apartment and is pretty sure that he's the one that did it." The EMT hurriedly informed them. By the time she finished talking they were in Trauma Room 1, and the double doors were swinging back into place, blocking out the victims bewildered sister.  
  
  
  
  
Alexandria was pacing around in front of the room, where the foreign doctor was working on her sister.  
  
Please, let Ana be okay, Alexandria silently prayed.  
  
It felt like forty years later when the doors to the room opened and the doctor came out.  
  
"Miss Watkins." He said, softly. Alexandria hurried over.  
  
"Yeah?"  
  
"I'm Dr. Kovac. I worked on your sister. We have her stabilized, but she's still in critical condition. She got stabbed in the diaphragm. It's affecting her breathing. We have her on a respirator. We stitched up the wound. I need to talk to you before you go see her." Dr. Kovac told her.  
  
"What?" she asked, impatient to see her sister.  
  
"You said you think your father did this?" Dr. Kovac asked her. Alexandria nodded. "What makes you think that?"  
  
"When I walked into the apartment he was rushing out. He didn't see me. When I got up she was drifting out. She was conscious long enough to call out Al." Alexandria told him.  
  
"Are there any past cases of abuse?" Dr. Kovac asked her.  
  
"Yes. He beat my mother a lot. That's why she committed suicide twelve years ago. Ever since then he's been beating Ana. She's been too scared to file any reports against him. She made me promise not to, and she's my twin, I'm not about to go back on my promise," Alexandria told the surprised doctor. But she cut him off as he started to protest. "But he almost killed her today. And I have to protect her over keeping her secrets."  
  
After a long silence Dr. Kovac decided she had finished talking. "So, are you ready to file a report?" he asked.  
  
"Yes." was her reply.   
  
"I'll get the police and social services here." Dr. Kovac said, making a note on the file he was carrying.  
  
"Dr. Kovac?"  
  
The nurse, who had helped with saving Alexandria's sister, was poking her head out the door. Dr. Kovac turned around.  
  
"Yes, Abby?" he asked.  
  
"She's waking up." Abby said and closed the door again.  
  
"You can come see her, but wait to come up to her until I say you can." Dr. Kovac said.  
  
They walked into the room and Alexandria gasped. Her sister was lying on the bed in a hospital gown looking around. She had a tube coming out of her mouth.  
  
Dr. Kovac walked up to her. "Mariana?" Do you know where you are?" he asked in a kind, soothing voice. Ana shook her head. "You're in a hospital. Your sister brought you in. You were stabbed. "I'm Dr. Kovac, your doctor and this is your nurse, Abby." He said nodding towards Abby who looked up from the file she was writing in and smiled. Mariana motioned to the tube protruding from her mouth. "You were stabbed in the diaphragm, you're having trouble breathing on your own. We can take the respirator off and put you on a ventilator, if you want."  
  
Mariana nodded and Abby came forward and helped slowly pull the tube out of her throat. When it was out, she coughed a little. Abby quickly put the ventilator on, this time it flowed into her nose.   
  
"Mariana?" Dr. Kovac was bending over her after they were done. "Your sisters here, would you like to see her?" Ana nodded and Dr. Kovac left patting Alexandria on the shoulder as he walked past. Abby followed.  
  
"Ana?" Alexandria asked when she was by her twin's side.  
  
"Hi Al." Mariana said in a rough voice. Mariana always called Alexandria 'Al' in times of distress, and it brought tears to Alexandria's eyes.  
  
"Ana, I'm so sorry!" Alexandria hated to tell her twin that she had broken a promise now, but the words came flooding from her mouth before she could stop them. "I told Dr. Kovac that dad stabbed you, and that he's beat you since we were five. I'm sorry I broke a promise, but if I didn't I knew that he'd pick you up, take you home and continue to beat you! He almost killed you now, next time he may actually do it!"  
  
By the time Alexandria was done talking she was sobbing.  
  
"Mariana reached up and stroked her sisters hair. "Thank you."  
  
  
Dr. Kovac knocked and entered. "Hi Mariana, Alexandria. We need to move you out. We're moving you up to ICU. I will continue checking on you, and I will be involved in your case. The police and the social workers would like to give you time to get settled in."  
  
  
  
Mariana woke up to a nurse checking her vitals.  
  
"What time is it?" Mariana asked.  
  
"Shhh." The nurse hushed her.  
  
"What time is it?" Mariana asked again.  
  
"6:45 AM. Now, be quiet. You'll wake your sister up." The nurse said. She finished her work in silence and left.  
  
Mariana settled back in, upset about the interruption in her sleeping time. She tossed and turned for awhile, but couldn't get back to sleep. She considered turning on the lamp and reading. But turning on the lamp would wake up her sister and she didn't have anything to read. Turning on the TV would wake Alexandria up as well, so she opted for lying and staring at the ceiling.  
  
Mariana moved around uncomfortably. She longed to reach up and pull the tubes from her nose. She was tired of lying on her back and found the buttons that allowed her to move the bed into a different position, and moved it so she was sitting up. The pillows were terrible. They were so small.  
  
She heard some movement and looked over. Alexandria had turned over on her side. The police are coming today, Mariana thought. They'll want to know what happened yesterday.  
  
As Mariana tried to remember, she was transported back:  
  
She had been doing her homework at the table when her father came home.  
  
"Hi Mari," he had greeted her. Most people called her Ana, but her dad called her Mari.  
  
"Hi, dad." She had said.  
  
He opened the refrigerator and pulled out a leftover chunk of roast beef and heated it up. The phone rang and he answered it. He spoke in gruff tones, and was yelling at the end. He slammed the phone down without saying goodbye.  
  
"Aren't you going to ask me what's wrong? I was yelling! Aren't you going to ask me what's wrong?" he shouted at her.  
  
"Why were you yelling?" she asked him.  
  
"I'm mad!" he answered.  
  
Well, of course you're mad. If you weren't mad you wouldn't have yelled, she thought.  
  
"Aren't you going to ask me why I'm mad?" he yelled.  
  
"Why are you mad?" she asked. He was cutting the roast beef now.  
  
"Because - " he looked at her. "Why are you in the sun? Get away from the window now!" she stepped into the shade and he started rambling incoherently when she started to stare into space. But his loud, "Are you paying attention to me?" brought her back.  
  
He started to yell at her for not paying attention to him. She stood, waiting for it to happen. Waiting for stinging slap across her face. For the jab at her stomach that would make her double over and for whatever came next.  
  
But what she felt was a sharp poke and her breath leaving her. Dizziness coming over her and her knees growing weak. The slam of the door met her ears.  
  
Snapping back to the hospital bed she thought, How was I supposed to know he would stab me? How was I supposed to know that instead of his hand he'd use a knife? Mariana started crying as the pain of it all took over her.  
  
Alexandria was instantly off the creaking cot and by her side. "Are you all right Ana? What's wrong?"  
  
Mariana tried to form the words to tell her twin what was wrong. Luckily for her, twin telepathy came through.  
  
"It's ok." Alexandria said, hugging her sister, stroking her hair. "It's not your fault."  
  
  
  
There was a knock on the door. Dr. Kovac entered.  
  
"Hi. How are your feeling today Mariana?" he asked.  
  
"Not good." Was her hoarse reply.  
  
  
"What's wrong?" he asked.  
  
"My throat is sore, my stomach hurts, I can't breathe, and I feel like I'm going to throw up." She answered.  
  
"Do you have a basin in case you do throw up?" the doctor asked.  
  
"Yeah."  
  
"Good. Let me listen to your lungs." He came over, put his stethoscope on and put the other end on her back, under the shirt.  
  
He moved it around, pausing to listen. When he was done he took it off and put it back to its place around his neck. "All right. Your still having a lot of trouble," he picked up her file and held it while writing in it. "I'm going to send you up for x-rays. There may be some damage we'll have to fix with surgery."  
  
"Surgery?" Mariana asked with a tremor in her voice.  
  
"Yes. There may be a need for it. If there is I'll assign you to Dr. Benton. The police and the social worker will be here at four. My shift gets done then. Would you like me to be with you then?"  
  
"Yeah." Mariana said.  
  
"All right. I'll be up here at four."  
  
  
  
Luka went down to the ER again. He was at the desk when Abby came up to him.  
  
"Hi Luka." Abby said.  
  
"Hi Abby."  
  
When does your shift end?" she asked.  
  
"Four."  
  
"Mine too," she said. "Let's go out to dinner."  
  
"I can't."  
  
"Why not?" she asked him.  
  
"I told Mariana I'd be there when the police and social services come."  
  
"That's not part of your job description, Luka." Abby reminded him.  
  
"I know. I'm doing it on my time off."  
  
"It's not normal for a doctor to sit with a patient when police are there!" she pointed out.  
  
"It's not normal for a doctor to run to the church of a bishop who's dying with lupus to bring him back to the hospital! And you never scolded me about that!"  
  
"We're not talking about an old bishop dying of lupus, Luka!" Abby yelled exasperated. "We're talking about a teenage girl with an abusive father!"  
  
"We're talking about a scared teenage girl!"  
  
"Yes! A scared teenage girl who's been abused by her father, who was nearly killed by him, and is going through a difficult time right now!" Abby yelled. "She's vulnerable right now and may misinterpret any actions you make!"  
  
"Misinterpret?"  
  
"Yes! I'm not trying to scold you, Luka! I'm trying to protect you!" Abby yelled with tears filling her eyes. "I don't want you to get hurt!" and with that she ran off crying.  
  
Luka stood there, stunned.  
  
"Way to go, Luka." A voice behind him said. He turned around. "You had to stir up the emergency room in some lovers spat, huh?" Kerri said and walked off disappointed in him.  
  
After that everyone resumed what they had been doing.  
  
"If you need help getting over this, ask me." Dave Malucci offered.  
  
"Thanks, Dave. But I can handle this." Luka thanked him.  
  
"Malucci!" Weaver's high-pitched yell called out.  
  
"All right. But if you need me, ask." Dave said and ran off.  
  
Luka sat down on a chair by the desk wearily. He had loudly discussed a patient's case, disturbed the whole ER, yelled at Abby, and made her cry.  
  
"Go talk to her." Randi said, rubbing back.  
  
"Do you think I should?" he asked her, worried that Abby needed more time alone.  
  
"Don't wait for her to bawl her eyes out any longer thinking that you hate her." Randi said.  
  
Luka got up right away and ran off in the direction Abby had gone. He didn't want her thinking he hated her.  
  
He found her silently crying in the supply room. He was mad at himself for making this scene happen. He knocked.  
  
"Abby, I'm so sorry. I don't hate you." He said right away.  
  
"What?" she asked looking up obviously confused.  
  
"I'm sorry I made you mad. And I don't want you to think I hate you, because I don't." Luka clarified.  
  
"I didn't think you hated me. Why would you think that?" Abby asked.  
  
"Randi said - " Luka began, but Abby cut him off.  
  
"Randi! You listened to Randi" Abby exclaimed and they both laughed. "At least she eased the tension."  
  
Luka grew serious. "I understand that your concerned Abby, but, I have to do this, and you have to understand that."  
  
"I understand, Luka. I do. I just don't want to see anything bad happen to you. And I want to spend more time with you," she said. And then, more quietly, "I-I love you Luka."  
  
"I love you, too, Abby." He said surprised. "I love you." He thought awhile, and then came up with an idea. "How about, after the police and social services leave, I pick you up and take you out to dinner?"  
  
"Yeah," Abby whispered. "That would be good."  
  
"Okay." Luka whispered. Then a little louder he said, "Let's dry your tears now." And with that he lifted his tie and wiped her face dry.  
  
They walked arm in arm out of the supply room. Randi saw them and started clapping. Other people looked up and clapped as well.  
  
  
  
Luka rode the elevator up to ICU. He looked around the man at the counter and saw the people he was looking for.  
  
"Hi. I'm Dr. Kovac, Mariana Watkin's doctor." He introduced himself when he got up to them.  
  
"Hi Dr. Kovac. I'm Officer Inglebrit and this is Detective Morris." The female officer introduced herself and the female detective next to her.  
  
"I'm Tanya Carter, the social worker." The other woman said.  
  
They asked him about Mariana's condition when she came in, and he answered them as they took notes.  
  
Luka heard the elevator doors open and close behind him. Then a loud splashing noise reached his ears. He turned around to see what was wrong. A girl was standing, staring at the elevator, her hand outstretched, its former occupant gone and all over the floor.   
  
It was Alexandria! Luka ran over to her, careful not to slip on the water.  
  
"Alexandria! What's happened?" he asked her, worried.  
  
"That was my dad." She replied, dazed.  
  
Luka was scared. Had he heard her right? The police and social worker were right by them now.  
  
"My dad just left Ana's room and went into the elevator!" Alexandria said again.  
  
Luka left Alexandria standing there and with everyone else ran to Mariana's room. She was lying in bed, her eyes were closed.  
  
"Mariana!" Luka yelled and rushed over to her.  
  
Mariana's eyes snapped open. What?!"  
  
"You're ok!" Luka exclaimed.  
  
"Of course I am! What happened?"  
  
"Your dad was in here. Alexandria's out in the hall freaking out." Dr. Kovac told her.  
  
"Oh!" Mariana said. Then she moved her arms under the covers. Luka saw her grab something and pull, but couldn't make out the shape. Mariana produced a white square envelope from under the covers. The name Mari was written in big black letters across the front.  
  
A nurse was walking Alexandria into the room. When she was that her sister was ok, she snapped out of her daze and ran over to Mariana throwing her arms around her.  
  
"You're ok!" Alexandria squealed. Then she noticed the envelope in Mariana's hands. "Dad left you that."  
  
"Yeah." Mariana said and opened it up. It was a Get Well card with a letter inside. Mariana unfolded the letter, read it silently and put it back in.  
  
The nurse who had escorted Alexandria to the room was still standing there. "Would you like anything Mariana?" the nurse asked her.  
  
"No." Mariana replied.  
  
"Ok." The nurse left the room.  
  
"Are you ready to start, Miss Watkins?" the police asked her.  
  
"Yes I am." She answered.  
  
"We need your full name." The police officer started, pulling out a piece of paper."  
  
"Mariana Elisabeth Watkins."  
  
The police officer started to copy down her name. Mariana watched her, waiting for the usual mistake. She was on her middle name. E, L, I, Z -  
  
"Officer, it's E, L, I, S, A, B, E, T, H." she spelled out for her.  
  
"Oh! Sorry." She corrected her mistake.  
  
Luka moved beside Mariana and rubbed her back as the officers and social worker asked her numerous questions about her father's abuse and the day of the stabbing.  
  



	2. Signature of an Abusive Father

Signature of an Abusive Father  
  
Dave Malucci walked out of the exam room and down the hall to the admitting desk to enter his new patient on the board.  
  
As he got closer to the desk, his pace slowed. A woman was at the desk. He only saw the back of her full blonde head, but he knew who it was. Randi, who was talking to the woman looked back and smiled at the approaching doctor, and then returned her attention to the woman in front of her.  
  
But the woman in front of her turned and smiled.  
  
"Davey baby!" she exclaimed and ran up to Dave threw her arms around him and kissed him on each cheek.  
  
Randi smiled at him and raised her eyebrows.  
  
"Hi mom!" Dave said and was pleased to see Randi's mouth drop open in surprise.  
  
His mom was definitely a beautiful woman. And she looked young. But she was his mother, and he hated it when people acted like she was girlfriend. Even if she did act like the clingy girlfriend type.  
  
Dr. Greene walked into the ER.  
  
"New girlfriend?" he mouthed to Randi.  
  
"Mother." Randi mouthed back.  
  
Mark watched the mother and son, and soon saw that Dave was gasping for breath within his mother's tight hug.  
  
He walked over and and said, "Mrs. Malucci, I think your holding Dave a little too tight."  
  
"Oh!" she exclaimed and let go of Dave. "I'm sorry honey."  
  
"That's ok mom." He said, and then, hesitantly, "Why are you here?"  
  
"Come on. I need to talk to you." She pulled him to the side. "Honey, I -"  
  
"Where is Mariana Watkins?" a hurried voice asked. Dr. Maluccu turned to see the person.  
  
A teenage boy stood before him, frantically looking around.  
  
"Who are you?" Dr. Malucci asked. He had herd that Mr. Watkins had shown up and although this man obviously wasn't her father, he didn't want another unwanted visitor to show up.  
  
"I'm Mitchell Evans. I'm her boyfriend." The boy introduced himself.  
  
"She's on the second floor in ICU. You can ask the desk what room." He told the boy who then thanked him and ran to the elevator.  
  
"What are you here for, mom?" Dave asked, turning back to his mother.  
  
"Your father, is dying."  
  
~*~*~*~*~  
  
Mitchell found the ICU on 2nd floor fairly easily. He walked up to the nurses station.  
  
"Yes?" a nurse, asked when he approached.  
  
"Mariana Watkins room, please." He told the lady.  
  
She typed the name into the computer. "Room 338. Right across from here." She told him pointing.  
  
He thanked her and turned around, and walked up to the door. He stopped. 338 was boldly written across the door.  
  
He knocked. Then he waited for awhile until the door opened. Alexandria stood before him.  
  
"Hi, Mitchell," she smiled at him but he thought she looked tired. "I'm gonna go grab some lunch in the cafeteria. You guys can spend time alone for awhile." She said and then slipped out.  
  
He shut the door and then turned to look at Mariana. He gasped when he saw her. She had an IV in one hand and a heart monitor attatched to the other. She was getting air through her nose.  
  
His beautiful Mariana was wrapped in cords and tubes and wires.  
  
"Hi honey." He finally said.  
  
"Hi Mitch." She replied. He noticed that her voice was hoarse.  
  
"What's wrong with your voice?" he asked her concerned.  
  
"Oh! They had to put a tube in my throat to help me breath yesterday. They said my voice should be hoarse for a day or two."  
  
"Oh." He said and sat down on the side of her bed. He sat there for awhile, and then he suddenly yelled, "How could he do that I could kill him for almost killing you!"  
  
Mariana laughed a little. "Calm down, Mitchell."  
  
There was a knock on the door and a tall, dark man in a white lab coat stepped in. "Hi Mariana. How are you today?" he spoke with a deep accent.  
  
"Hi. I'm fine. Dr. Kovac, this is my boyfriend Mitchell. Mitch, this is Dr. Kovac, he's the doctor who worked on me when I came to the ER yesterday."  
  
Mitch stood and shook the man's hand with gratitude. "Hi Dr. Kovac. Thank you for working on Mariana! Thank you so much for saving her life!"  
  
Dr. Kovac just laughed, and mentioned he had help. He then got to the point. "I just got your scans back, Mariana." Mitchell grabbed Mariana's hand. He didn't know what the scans were for, but he didn't think were good. He knew his assumption was correct when her hand tightened around his. "You will need surgery. I've got Dr. Benton assigned to the case. He's an excellent surgeon."  
  
Mitchell looked at Mariana. He could see the fear in her eyes.  
  
"Surgery?" she whispered, her eyes dropping.  
  
"Yes," he said sympathy in his voice. "Dr. Benton should be in sometime today or tomorrow to talk to you."  
  
"Will it hurt?"  
  
"There will be some discomfort, yes." Dr. Kovac told her. "Well, I'll let you talk to Mitchell alone." He left the room.  
  
Mitchell looked at Mariana and saw that she was surprised, yet comforted by the doctor's rectitude.  
  
"Are you ok, Ana?"  
  
"Yeah."  
  
Mitchell sat back down on the side of her bed.  
  
"Honey, are you mad?" he asked her. She was unusually quiet and she had short answers for everything.  
  
"No. I'm tired." She answered.  
  
Her answer scared him. A man had just abused her. Maybe she didn't trust men; maybe she didn't want to be around them.  
  
"Tired?" he asked. "Tired, of us?"  
  
"No! No, of course not!" she laughed. "They gave me medicine for the pain. It's making me tired,"  
  
"Oh!" he laughed with relief. "Well then, I'll let you get some sleep." He leaned forward and kissed her forehead.  
  
"Thank you for coming, Mitchell."  
  
"Of course I came! I couldn't just at home while my girlfriend was in the hospital!" he exclaimed.  
  
"Well, thanks. I really appreciate it." She said, and then closed her eyes. He could tell by her breathing that she was asleep. He smiled and watched her for awhile.  
  
He really loved her. He had been so scared when Alexandria had called him, even though she had told him that Ana was ok.  
  
He hadn't been able to believe it; Mariana had been stabbed! He looked at her now, sleeping on her back, the only way she could because all the machines. She hated sleeping on her back!  
  
He started walking towards the door. He had liked that Dr. Kovac. He was a nice man. And, he had saved Ana's life.  
  
~*~*~*~*~  
  
"Would you like another salad?" the waiter asked Dave.  
  
"Yes, please." Dave answered and the waiter ran off to get it. Dave and his mother were sitting at the Olive Garden. "Now, what about dad?"  
  
"He has terminal cancer. He has only about three months left. Could you please come down and spend the last months with him? He's scared and alone. You're a doctor and his son. He hasn't seen you in a long time. Please?" his mother pleaded, tears in her eyes.  
  
"Let me call Kerry," he said. "I'll see when I'm able to get off."  
  
His mother got her cell phone out and handed it over.  
  
~*~*~*~*~  
  
The phone was ringing and Randi answered, blowing a bubble.  
  
"Randi! Will you stop chewing gum?" Dave asked as the bubble popped. "What do our patients families think of us?"  
  
"Oh, don't worry Dave. I knew it wasn't anyone important." She smiled, her eyes twinkling. "Who do you want?"  
  
"Weaver."  
  
"Oooooh!" she smiled, her eyes twinkling.  
  
"Funny, Randi! But, at least I don't want her as badly as she wants you."  
  
"Ewww!" Randi shouted.  
  
"I want to talk to her Randi."  
  
"Oh!" Randi laughed. "She's off duty."  
  
"Who can I talk to for her, then?"  
  
"Luka."  
  
"Put him on!" Dave exclaimed.  
  
"He's not here." She said.  
  
"What?!"  
  
"He's checking on Mariana." Randi told him.  
  
"Oh." He said disappointed."  
  
"Wait! He's here!" she said, and then he heard her calling, "Luka!"  
  
Soon the other doctor came on. "Hello?"  
  
"Hey. It's me, Malucci." He said.  
  
"What do you want?" he sighed.  
  
"Can I take the next three months off?"  
  
"What?! Malucci! You can't just call for no reason asking for three months off!" he exclaimed. He couldn't believe Malucci was asking this.  
  
"I know! I know! My dad's dying and he really wants me there because I'm a doctor and his son and he hasn't seen me in awhile." Luka was about to say something, but Malucci kept going. "And he loves me, and he cares for me. And I'm his favorite boy in the world. And..."  
  
"Malucci!" Luka cut the ongoing ego off.  
  
"Sorry, my mother is mouthing all these things to me." Malucci said and Luka smiled at the thought of it. "And now she's crying! I need an answer!"  
  
"Yeah. I'll talk it over with Weaver for you."  
  
"Thanks!" Malucci called out, and the line was disconnected.  
  
~*~*~*~*~  
  
"We'll be moving you two into foster care." Detective Morris told them.  
  
The police, social worker, Kovac and Alexandria were all with Mariana in her tiny ICU room.  
  
"Foster care!" Mariana yelled. "No way!"  
  
"Ms. Watkins, I can understand why you wouldn't want to go into foster care. But you can't go back to your father."  
  
"I wasn't thining of going back to him! I know that's not an option! But I can't go into foster care!" she retorted.  
  
"Ms. Watkins! If your not planning to go to a foster care home, and your not going to go back to your father, where will you go?" Officer Inglebrit sternly asked.  
  
Mariana looked down to the side and blinked awhile. "Fine!" she spat out.  
  
Alexandria wanted to kill Officer Inglebrit for talking to her sister like that. Luka was just as mad.  
  
"Good." Detective Morris said. "Now, we'll try as hard as we can to keep you two together - but we can't promise anything."  
  
Mariana and Alexandria's heads snapped in his direction when he said this word.  
  
"Try?" Mariana called out, incredulously. "Try? You better do more than try buddy! You better make sure we're kept together."  
  
"Ms. Watkins, we like keeping siblings together, but I can't promise anything." The Detective said.  
  
"Excuse me, Detective Morris." Alexandria replied icily. "But we are more than plain old siblings. We are twins. We shared the womb at the same time, we were born at the same time, and we've shared a room together all our lives and never complained! We have never been separated!!! We are sisters! We are best friends! We are twins! If you thought that it was ok for you to separate us, than you have been mistaken! You can not separate us!"  
  
Sighing, the detective said, "Ms. Watkins!"  
  
"Don't try to reason with us Detective Morris!" Mariana snapped. "When I agreed to this foster care crap, I was not aware of this splitting up possiblity! We're either placed together or not at all! Got it?"  
  
Detective Morris tried to talk again.  
  
"Got it?" Mariana yelled, a look of pure anger on her face.  
  
"Got it." The Detective sighed.  
  
"What about adoption?" Dr. Kovac spoke up.  
  
"What about it?" Detective Morris asked.  
  
"Why don't you put them up for adoption?"  
  
"Why would we do that?" Morris asked, confused.  
  
"Because they would be together, and they'd have a home after they turn eighteen. They'll have a place to go on Christmas and other holidays. They'd have birthday presents. They've had a hard life. This would make it easier for them from now on." He said, and looked at into Mariana and Alexandria's tear-filled eyes. At that moment he realized that he'd hit home. This is what the twins had always wanted. He found himself wanting to cry at this. These girls had never thought that this would happen. He decided that he would make the detective put these two girls up for adoption.  
  
"That's impossible." The detective said simply.  
  
"Really?" Dr. Kovac asked.  
  
"Yes."  
  
"Why is it impossible?"  
  
"They are sixteen. People adopt babies, not teenagers." The detective said matter-of-factly.  
  
"That's not good enoguh. You better come up with a new explanation because I'm not buying that one!"  
  
"Their father still has custody of them. And even when we get a hold of him, and if he's convicted, he'll still have custody of them. The only way to release that is if we get him to sign some papers." She said.  
  
"He would never sign any papers if you brought them." Mariana said.  
  
"Any other way, Detective?" Kovac asked.  
  
"We could take him to court." The detective said. But she quickly added, "It would take awhile to get him into court, and since no one has ever seen him beat Mariana, it's not going to be easy to get the verdict we want. By the time we do, they could be eighteen. And even if they're not, it would take a long time to find them a home. Their teens."  
  
"So, basically we have to get him to sign some papers, which he'll never do." Dr. Kovac sighed.  
  
"Basically." Morris answered.  
  
"Did you guys hear what I said?" Mariana asked. Everyone looked at her. "I said if you guys ask him too. You don't know my dad, but he loves us very much."  
  
"He loves you?" Officer Inglebrit exclaimed. "He tried to kill you!"  
  
"He loves us very much." She continued. "If we asked him, he'd probably sign."  
  
"I'll go." Alexandria said.  
  
"No! We can't have you near him." Officer Ingelbrit said.  
  
"I am going to go." Alexandria said firmly.  
  
There was a long silence and then the social worker said, "I'll get you the papers."  
  
~*~*~*~*~  
  
Luka was in the lounge drinking coffee when Abby came in.  
  
"Hi Luka."  
  
"Hi Abby."  
  
She came over and gave him a big kiss on the lips, but was surprised when it wasn't returned.  
  
"Luka, what's wrong?" she asked him, concerned.  
  
"I suggested that Ana and her sister be put up for adoption and now Alexandria is looking for her abusive to sign custody release forms."  
  
"Oh, Luka." Abby said softly.  
  
"I'm worried about her." Luka said.  
  
Abby gave him a big hug. As she held him, she said, "She'll be okay."  
  
~*~*~*~*~  
  
He had to be here. This was the last bar in all of Chicago. He had to be here.  
  
Alexandria walked into the smoky bar, clutching the Release of Custody forms. She looked around and saw him at a table emptying a bottle of beer, with five bottles around him as well as two bottles of whiskey. He ordered another bottle beer.  
  
She cautiously walked over.  
  
"Dad?" she asked him. He didn't respond so she said, "Dad" again and touched his shoulder.  
  
He jumped and looked up at her, anger in his eyes, but they anger went away when he saw that it was his daughter.  
  
"Alexandria." He said, his words slurring. "What are you doing here?"  
  
"Um, dad. The police are going to put Mariana and I in a foster home, unless you sign papers releasing custody of us so that we can be adopted." She explained.  
  
"You mean, they want me to give up my two daughters? My only living family?" he yelled, drunkenly.  
  
"Yeah, dad." Alexandria said, and then with tears filling her eyes she said, "Dad, you almost killed Mariana! We can't come back to you! And if we go to a foster home, we won't have anybody after we turn eighteen! Please, sign the papers. Sign them so we can be adopted. I know you love us daddy. I know you want what's best for us. So please, make the best decision for us that you could ever make. Sign the papers."  
  
Jack Watkins stood up, his face dark with anger. Alexandria's eyes grew wide with fear as he stood over her.  
  
Uh-oh! I've made him mad. Now I know how scared Mariana was before he ever beat her! I'm going to go through what she went through. Alexandria thought.  
  
He raised his arm and she was closed her eyes preparing for him to punch her, hit her, whatever he was going to do. And she was afraid. She was so scared.  
  
She felt the papers sliding out from her fingers, and when she realized that he would have beat her already, she opened her eyes.  
  
Her dad was on the last paper. He handed them back to Alexandria and giving her a hug, put money on the table and walked out of the bar.  
  
Alexandria looked through the papers. Each one had the signature, Jack Watkins. 


	3. Wanted: Someone to Love Us

Wanted: Someone to Love Us  
  
Tears were welling up in her eyes as the flourescent red sign loomed in front of her. Just a couple days before, this sign had brought relief for her because inside those sliding glass doors were doctors and nurses trained to successfully treat her sisters stab wound. But tonight the sign brought dread. The long walk from the bar to the emergency room had not been long enough for her to compose herself. The emotional side of her father was a side she hadn't seen, until tonight.  
  
She stopped and gazed into the sign. The doors opened before her. Sighing, she clutched the signed papers to her chest as she stepped through the doors into the bright, busy environment inside.  
  
~*~*~*~*~  
  
Luka looked up when he heard the doors zoom to the sides. He breathed a sigh of relief to see Alexandria walking through. She looked weary, but she had made it back.  
  
He stood up just as she got to the desk. Her knuckles were white, she was gripping the papers so hard. The edges were crinkled in her grip. She looked up at him and the light glinted off the tears brimming beneath her eyelids.  
  
"What's wrong? Did he not sign them?" Luka asked, fearing that he was right.  
  
"No, he signed them." Alexandria said, quickly swiping her eyes before any of the tears spilled over.  
  
"Then what's wrong?" he whispered.  
  
Alexandria was silent, when she finally looked up she said, "He had tears in his eyes when he handed them back to me."  
  
Luka pulled Alexandria to him in a hug. All she and her sister had ever wanted was a father – or anyone for that matter – to love them. And now Alexandria realized that her father had loved her, but it was too late. The twins would never be able to go back to their father. His anger had erupted too violently and he had almost killed his daughter.  
  
Luka felt sorry not only for Mariana and Alexandria, but also for their father. This man seemed to love his children, though you wouldn't be able to guess it by how he treated them. His love was shown when he had visited Mariana, and now he had shown it in tears after he had signed the papers to give his daughters a better life. A safe life.  
  
He pulled back from Alexandria and asked, "Would you like to show the papers to Mariana before we hand them over?"  
  
Alexandria nodded and together they walked up to Mariana's room in ICU.  
  
~*~*~*~*~  
  
Mariana woke up when she felt someone shaking her gently. "Mariana." She heard the whispered voice say.  
  
She opened her eyes and looked into her sister's face.  
  
"Hi Alexandria. Did you get the signatures?" she asked, glad to hear that her voice was becoming normal again.  
  
Alexandria nodded and gave the papers to Mariana. "Here they are."  
  
Mariana looked at the bottom of the papers and saw her father's signature, Jack Watkins. She noticed a spot on the papers, a little clear stain, not made by beer.  
  
"Alexandria?" Mariana asked.  
  
"Yeah?"  
  
"Did Dad cry when he signed the papers?" she asked.  
  
"He had tears in his eyes, why?"  
  
She pointed out the little stain and said, "Because there's a tearstain on the paper."  
  
Smiling, Mariana handed the papers back to Alexandria and said, "I'm really tired. See you in the morning."  
  
Luka and Alexandria stayed in the room a couple minutes until Mariana's heavy breathing told them that she was asleep. Alexandria walked out first and before Luka stepped out of the room into the hallway, he looked back at Mariana and saw that she had fallen asleep with a smile on her face. Her hand was lightly touching the card that her father had given her.  
  
~*~*~*~*~  
  
We gave the papers to Detective Morris and you two are now up for adoption." Luka told Mariana and Alexandria the next morning.  
  
He watched their responses. Both of them looked happy, but sad as well.  
  
There was a knock on the door and they all looked up to see Peter Benton enter the room.  
  
"Hi Dr. Kovac." Benton said. Then he looked at the charts in his hands and looked at Mariana. "You must be Mariana Watkins."  
  
Mariana nodded.  
  
Luka quickly got off the chair he was sitting on and said, "That's Alexandria, Mariana's twin sister. Alexandria, Mariana, this Dr. Benton. He's a surgeon."  
  
Dr. Benton smiled and looked at the chart again, "Let's see, you have a tear in your diaphragm. It's an operation I haven't had to perform very often, but it's an easy procedure. You should get it done as soon as possible. Let me go to my office and see what's on my schedule. I'll call your nurse with the time."  
  
"Okay." Mariana said.  
  
Benton shook Mariana and Alexandria's hand, then shook Luka's and left.  
  
~*~*~*~*~  
  
"Mariana, your surgery is scheduled for 1:30 this afternoon." Her nurse said as she poked her head in.  
  
"Okay, thank you." Mariana called out, her voice breaking. It was getting better, but it was still hard to talk loudly. Most of the time she spoke just above a whisper.  
  
"Careful." Alexandria scolded.  
  
"Sorry." Mariana said.  
  
Alexandria nervously swallowed and said, "Uh, Mariana, I'm going to go to church tomorrow."  
  
Before the nurse had come in, they had been talking about their church. The people there didn't seem to care that these two teenagers came in every Sunday without a parent along. They had stopped going a month before. If the church didn't care about them, then obviously God didn't. And now with the stabbing, they were even more convinced that he didn't care.  
  
"Why?" Mariana cried in obvious disgust.  
  
"Because…I don't know!" Alexandria stammered. "I just feel like…like…like they'll actually care now."  
  
"Fine. Go." Mariana said. She didn't sound angry at all, but Alexandria didn't think she approved.  
  
~*~*~*~*~  
  
A woman ran into the ER and looked around. She quickly ran up to the desk. Luka looked up. "May I help you?"  
  
"Yes. I'm looking for Mariana Watkins." The woman told him.  
  
Luka studied her. "Who are you?"  
  
"Anita Owens. I'm her choir teacher." The woman told him.  
  
"Hold on." He said and picked up the phone. He dialed the extension to reach Mariana's room. "Mariana? Hi. It's Dr. Kovac. You're choir teacher, Ms. Owens is here. Can I bring her up?" he paused for awhile, listening to her answer. "All right." He hung up the phone.  
  
"Can I see her?" Ms. Owens asked.  
  
"Yes. I'll take you up to her room." He walked to the elevator with Ms. Owens right behind him. He punched the button and the elevator immediately opened. They stepped in and he punched the button for the ICU floor. "You can stay for a half-hour. She's going into surgery at 1:30 and they have to start preparing her for it at 1:00."  
  
"That's fine." Ms. Owens replied. "I just need to see her."  
  
Luka studied the woman until the door opened. She really cared about Mariana. He was glad to see that.  
  
He quickly walked to Mariana's room, with Ms. Owens right behind him. He knocked and heard Alexandria call out, "Come in!"  
  
He opened the door and stepped inside, then pushed the door farther out so that Ms. Owens could follow.  
  
"All right. I am going to go back down to the ER. I'll be back at one when they start getting you ready for surgery." He told Mariana.  
  
She smiled at him as he left. He walked back to the elevator and, clicking on the button, waited for the elevator to arrive.  
  
He turned around and stared at the closed door of Mariana's room. He wanted to see her happy, to see her safe, to see her loved. He wanted to see Alexandria happy, to see her safe and to see her loved. He made a promise to himself that no matter what, he would make sure that the twins were adopted into a loving home.  
  
~*~*~*~*~  
  
His shift was over and Luka was waiting with Alexandria in the Surgery Waiting Room. Both were extremely anxious. The surgery was supposed to have been over a half-hour ago.  
  
The phone on the wall rang and the changing staff answered it and told waiting family and friends that their loved ones were out of surgery and that the doctor would be in. But not once did the phone ring for Alexandria.  
  
The phone on the wall rang and the volunteer sitting at the desk answered it.  
  
She talked on the phone quickly and hung up. Looking out to the room she called out, "Alexandria Watkins! Your sister is out of surgery. The doctor will be in shortly."  
  
Just a couple minutes later, Dr. Benton walked in. Alexandria quickly wandered over.  
  
"Sorry it took so long. She started bleeding more than expected and we had to take care of that before we could go on with the surgery." Dr. Benton told her.  
  
Alexandria's eyes widened in fear and she opened her mouth to say something but Benton cut her off. "She's fine now. Everything else went smoothly and she should be waking up soon. I'll be in the room in about thirty minutes to make sure everything is okay before they take back to her room."  
  
"Thank you, Dr. Benton." Alexandria said.  
  
"You're welcome." He smiled and then left.  
  
~*~*~*~*~  
  
Luka had waited until Mariana was safe in her room before he left to go home. Once he got there, he reached into his coat pocket and pulled out the card with the contact information of the detective assigned to Mariana's case.  
  
He picked up the phone and dialed the number. The phone rang for a while before someone picked it up.  
  
"Detective Morris."  
  
"Hi, Detective. This is Dr. Kovac from Cook County General Hospital. I was the doctor that worked on Mariana Watkins when she was brought in."  
  
"Oh yes." She said. Luka could tell by the tone of her voice that she was not happy to hear from him. "You're the one who insisted that we send Alexandria out to their abusive father to get a signature to put two sixteen-year-olds up for adoption!"  
  
Luka closed his eyes and sighed. He opened them and said, "Yes. I was wondering how the adoption process is going? Is anyone interested yet?"  
  
"Of course not! They're sixteen, Dr. Kovac!" the woman shouted.  
  
Luka sighed again. "I will do whatever it takes to make sure that these two girls are adopted Detective Morris."  
  
"Don't you think that you're getting a little too involved in their case Dr. Kovac?"  
  
"Excuse me?" he asked confused.  
  
"Someone brings someone in, you fix them up if possible and then send them home. Isn't that what it says in your job description?" Detective Morris asked.  
  
"Uh, sure." Luka responded, not quite knowing what to say.  
  
"Where in your job description does it say, take over a detectives job by insisting that sixteen-year-olds be put up for adoption instead of foster care, the best choice?"  
  
Luka rolled his eyes. "What are you saying Detective?"  
  
"What I'm saying is that I think as a doctor you're getting a little too close. Do you want to adopt the girls or something? Because if you don't I think I'm going to put a restraining order on you."  
  
~*~*~*~*~  
  
It was Sunday morning and Alexandria nervously walked into church. The social worker hadn't been able to get their stuff yet, so Alexandria was still wearing the khakis and red shirt that she had since the attack.  
  
"Alexandria!" she quickly looked up to find the voice that was calling her name.  
  
The pastor of the church was walking towards her, smiling.  
  
"Pastor Hart, hi!" she said.  
  
He held out his hand and she shook it.  
  
"I've missed you and your sister. Why did you two disappear?"  
  
"Uh, well, we didn't feel very welcomed. So we decided to leave."  
  
Pastor Hart frowned. "You didn't feel very welcomed? I have to do something about that!" he shook his head. He stopped and looked up, smiling this time. "Well, I'm glad you're back! Where's Mariana? Not ready to come back yet?"  
  
Alexandria looked down at the floor, not answering. "Alexandria? Is everything okay?" He looked at her intensly and said, "What's wrong? You look tired and pale."  
  
Alexandria looked back up at him. "How long do we have before the next service?"  
  
"Forty-five minutes." He said looking at his watch.  
  
"Can I talk to you privately?" Alexandria asked.  
  
"Of course. Follow me." He said and led her into his office. Closing the door, he sat down behind his desk and motioned to the chairs in front of it. "Sit down."  
  
Alexandria sat and sighing looked at him, ready to tell him what happened. "Two days ago Ana was admitted into Cook County General."  
  
"What happened?" he asked, his eyes widening in concern.  
  
"My Dad stabbed her. She had surgery yesterday to fix a tear in her diaphragm." Alexandria told her.  
  
"Oh dear! Is she going to be okay?"  
  
"Yes, she will be." Alexandria said. "She should be in the hospital for at least another week. She should be able to start breathing on her own soon, now that the tear is fixed. But, they were going to put us into foster care. The doctor that took care of her in the ER stepped in and had me go to my father to get him to sign some papers so that we could be put up for adoption. He signed."  
  
Pastor Hart closed his eyes and then looked up at her. "No wonder you're tired! Let me see if I have this all down correctly. Two days ago, your father stabbed your sister. She was rushed to the hospital. She had a tear in her diaphragm that was fixed yesterday, and you two are up for adoption?"  
  
Alexandria nodded her head.  
  
"Can I put you two on the prayer list and come visit Mariana later this afternoon?" Pastor Hart asked.  
  
Alexandria smiled. "Yes. Thank you so much!"  
  
~*~*~*~*~  
  
Luka's head was reeling. He had told Detective Morris that he'd call back as soon as he had a chance to think about it. Did he really want to adopt the twins? Is that why he had become so involved in their case?  
  
He wanted to be a father again. But is this how? By adopting two teenagers whose father had abused them?  
  
~*~*~*~*~  
  
Mariana was flipping through the TV channels when the door opened.  
  
"Mariana?" she looked over and saw Alexandria standing in the door.  
  
"What's up?" she asked.  
  
"I brought a visitor?" Alexandria said walking farther into the room.  
  
"Who?"  
  
"Pastor Hart." She said motioning for him to come in. Pastor Hart walked in the door and Mariana stared surprised. He quickly came over to the side of Mariana's bed and knelt down before her. The lights were off, so Alexandria quickly stepped forward and turned on the light above her bed.  
  
"Hi, Pastor Hart." Mariana said.  
  
"Hi Mariana." He looked at her. "Your voice doesn't sound too good? Were you on a ventilator?"  
  
"Yes." Mariana replied.  
  
"Mariana, I'm sorry you didn't feel welcomed at my church. I don't know why, but I'm going to make sure that it never happens again."  
  
"Okay." Mariana said, somewhat stunned.  
  
Pastor Hart was about to go on, but was interrupted by a knock on the door. Alexandria walked over and opened it. Officer Inglebrit, Detective Morris and Dr. Kovac walked in.  
  
"Hi." Mariana greeted them all surprised.  
  
"Mariana, Alexandria," Detective Morris said looking at the twins. "We have found someone to adopt you two."  
  
  


	4. A New Daddy?

A New Daddy?  
  
Mariana stared at the Detective. They've found someone to adopt them?  
  
"Now, the decision is all up to you." Detective Morris said. "If you don't want to be adopted by the person we have right now, you don't have to. We'll keep on searching."  
  
Mariana rolled her eyes. Why did they always have to drag things out? All she wanted to know was who's interested in becoming her parents.  
  
She sighed and exclaimed, "Well, who is it?"  
  
Detective Morris smiled and said, "How 'bout Dr. Kovac?"  
  
Mariana and Alexandria both stared at the doctor in surprise.  
  
~*~*~*~*~  
  
They were staring at him. Luka was so nervous. Did they want to be his daughters? Would they say no on the spot? Would they think about it? Would they say yes right now? Who is that man sitting next to Mariana's bed and why is he here?  
  
~*~*~*~*~  
  
Mariana snapped out of her surprised gaze when she noticed Luka's gaze settle on Pastor Hart.  
  
Mariana cleared her throat ignoring the pain it caused, "Uh, Dr. Kovac, this is Pastor Hart."  
  
Luka smiled at the man, "Hi."  
  
Pastor Hart smiled.  
  
"Well, girls? We don't have all day? Would you like to have Luka as your father?" Detective Morris cut in.  
  
Mariana looked at Alexandria. They didn't need twin telepathy to know what they were thinking. The look in their eyes told each everything. They looked at the Detective, ready to tell her their decision.  
  
~*~*~*~*~  
  
Luka had never realized how much nervousness made time slow. It seemed to take forever before Mariana and Alexandria looked over their way, even though the clock said that it only took ten seconds for them to decide.  
  
Luka closed his eyes and then opened them. Looking at Alexandria and then Mariana he felt himself relax. Their eyes were shining happily.  
  
"Yeah. We'd like having Dr. Kovac as our father." Alexandria said as Mariana smiled at Luka.  
  
Detective Morris looked surprised. "Okay!" she said after she paused. "Then you'd better get used to calling him Luka or Dad because I think it would be awkward calling him Dr. Kovac all the time!"  
  
Luka smiled at the girls.  
  
"I'll go get the paperwork and let you all get aquainted." She said as she walked out of the room, shutting the door.  
  
After she left there was an awkward silence. Pastor Hart broke it by saying, "So, you're adopting Mariana and Alexandria! Congratulations, they are great girls!"  
  
Luka looked at the Pastor, embarrassed. "Thank you."  
  
~*~*~*~*~  
  
Luka had left the hospital. Two hours later he was trying to get to sleep.  
  
His alarm went off. Groggily getting out of bed he wondered what time he had gotten to sleep. He was so tired!  
  
He showered, got dressed, and left his apartment. On the way to the hospital he grabbed a cup of coffee at a coffee shop.  
  
He walked in, receiving strange looks as he walked to the lounge. He hung up his coat, put on the lab jacket, and placed his stethoscope around his neck. Finishing his coffee, he threw the cup away as he walked out the door.  
  
He strode over the admit desk and looked at the board. Abby walked up to him. "Are you missing your children, Luka?"  
  
He looked at her, confused. "What?"  
  
"Your children. Do you miss them?" Abby asked again.  
  
"Of course I do. I always have." He said. It was strange that she was talking to him about them at work. He looked back at the board.  
  
She sighed. "Let me put it this way, do you miss having kids?"  
  
Luka looked at her, confused. Then it dawned on him. She was talking about him adopting Mariana and Alexandria. How did she know? He was about to reply but didn't have a chance.  
  
"Luka! Dr. Romano and I would like to see you in his office." Kerry yelled as she walked past the admit desk over to the elevator.  
  
Luka rolled his eyes and followed her. She didn't say anything at all. When they got to Romano's office they knocked on the door.  
  
"Come in!"  
  
Kerry opened the door and they walked in. Romano was standing behind his desk. He motioned to the two chairs in front of the desk and then sat down. Kerry and Luka sat down before him.  
  
"Do you know why you're here, Dr. Kovac?" Romano asked him.  
  
"Because of Mariana and Alexandria?" he inquired.  
  
"Yes." Romano confirmed.  
  
"How do you all know?" Luka asked.  
  
"Luka, this hospital is a hotbed for gossip." Romano told him. "Were you really surprised when we found out?"  
  
Luka shook his head, "No."  
  
Romano sighed. "Luka, we're okay with you adopting the twins. They need a good home, and you don't adopt every troubled child that comes through. You never shown an interest before, and it'll be hard to get them an adoptive parent."  
  
"But…" Luka prodded him to go on after he stopped talking for a minute.  
  
"But. We need to know something."  
  
Another silence.  
  
"What?"  
  
"Are you doing this because you want a children again?" Romano asked him. "Are you doing it because Detective Morris threatened to put a restraining order on you?"  
  
Luka rubbed his eyes wearily. "I've always wanted children again, ever since my children died. I love being a father, and watching kids grow. I love being with them when they're happy, and comforting them when they're sad.  
  
"But, adopting your children isn't the same as creating them. Especially when the children you're adopting are sixteen. They knew their mother, and their father. And they'll always remember the parents who gave them life. That's why I've never been interested in adopting any.  
  
"But Mariana and Alexandria are different. I've been so interested in their case, thinking about them nonstop since Mariana was rushed in. I was so determined to help make them happy, because I know what's it like when you're not. I never realized that I wanted to adopt them, until Detective Morris threatened me with the restraining order. It was then that I realized how much I love those girls, and how much I'd miss not being able to see them."  
  
Weaver and Romano listened patiently. "Okay. That's all." Romano said. "You may go."  
  
~*~*~*~*~  
  
That was so strange, Luka thought as he rode the elevator back down the ER. Kerry had stayed up to talk to Romano about a surgical case that had just come in a while ago.  
  
He got off the elevator and walked back into ER, gazes turning once he stepped into the hall.  
  
Soon, Abby was by him. "What did they want?"  
  
"What do you think?" he asked. "They wanted to know the exact same things all you wanted know."  
  
"Which is?" Abby tried to get some answers without him actually asking.  
  
"No to both questions! I want to do this!" he yelled out so that others would hear.  
  
"Gunshot wound to the abdomen! ETA 2 minutes!" Randi shouted out. Luka ran forward to meet the ambulance outside, and get away from all the stares.  
  
~*~*~*~*~  
  
After his shift was over, Luka ran up to Mariana's room. His daughters room. He had signed the papers the night before, now all they needed was for the courts to clear them.  
  
He knocked on the door and walked in. Mariana and Alexandria looked up and smiled. He was glad to see that Ana was breathing on her own. Detective Morris was sitting with them.  
  
"Hi! Luka!" Detective Morris said standing up and holding out her hand. "Now there's a place for the girls to go to, we need to go take their stuff from the apartment. And I think it would be good for healing if both girls go along. Can we get Mariana a pass to leave the hospital?"  
  
Luka shook the Detective's hand. "Yes, we can do that. I can go with."  
  
"That's a good idea."  
  
Alexandria looked at them relieved. "Can we go tonight? I haven't been able to change since Mariana came in!"  
  
Detective Morris looked at Luka. "If we can get a pass for tonight we can."  
  
Luka looked at the door. "I'll go out and talk to them now."  
  
~*~*~*~*~  
  
After ten minutes of negotiating and telling the ICU doctor that if he didn't let Ana go, they'd get the police to let her go, he finally got a four-hour pass. Alexandria would be able to go back to school the next day.  
  
They bundled Mariana up in Luka's leather jacket; she had only a hospital gown to wear.  
  
They walked to police car, Luka carrying Mariana. They didn't want to strain her in any way. Once they were all settled in the car, the heat blasting through the radiators, Detective Morris grabbed her cell phone and called the apartment. There was no answer.  
  
She called Officer Inglebrit; told her what they were doing and that she should meet them there.  
  
~*~*~*~*~  
  
Once they were settled outside of the apartment and Officer Inglebrit was standing outside of their car, Detective Morris called once more.  
  
When no one answered they walked in. Everyone followed Alexandria up the stairs.  
  
"Do you think that the blood is cleaned up?" Alexandria asked.  
  
"I'm not sure. Only if your neighbors did it?" Officer Inglebrit responded, pulling her gun out for safety.  
  
Mariana let out a short laugh, but no one had time to ask her what she meant by it. The door to their neighbors opened.  
  
She smiled when she saw them walking through the hall. "I thought I heard Alexandria's voice!" she saw Mariana in the doctors arms and her smile grew wider. "Mariana! I'm so glad to see you! We thought it might be something serious! I'm so glad to see you're okay!"  
  
Alexandria smiled and walked past. "Hi, Mrs. Wilson." She pulled out her keys and opened the door.  
  
"I hope you don't mind, a bunch of us got the spare set of keys from the landlord and we went in there to clean up." Mrs. Wilson told them and then added, "And call me Anita."  
  
"Thanks." Alexandria smiled as they walked into the kitchen. Blood was still staining the floor.  
  
Mariana winced and put her face in Luka's shoulder. Luka moved one hand up to stroke her hair gently.  
  
Detective Morris looked at Anita. "Uh, Anita, I thought you cleaned up the blood."  
  
"Oh, well, we weren't exactly sure if they'd want us too, so we left half of it on the floor just in case." Anita said.  
  
Luka rolled his eyes behind the woman's head and then said, "Well, I don't think Mariana wants to see it, so I'm gonna go put her on that couch."  
  
Anita turned around and sighed sadly when she saw Mariana's head resting on Luka's shoulder. "Oh dear, the poor girl! Did it hurt when he stabbed you?"  
  
Mariana laughed shortly again as Luka walked over to the couch in the living room.  
  
He gently placed her on it, and, grabbing the afghan folded it up and placed it under her head.  
  
Anita didn't notice that Mariana didn't answer. She ran out of the door and yelled into her apartment, "Bud! Alexandria and Mariana are in their apartment right now!"  
  
Then she ran down the hall screaming, "Alexandria and Mariana are in their apartment! They're back!"  
  
Soon, there was a line outside of the apartment of people wanting to get in. Officer Inglebrit, who was guarding the door yelled, "I'm sorry, but you can't come in here!"  
  
"Why not?" the neighbors yelled out, angry.  
  
"Because one of you might be Jack Watkins, and we're trying to keep him away from Mariana!" she yelled back, almost adding Alexandria but realizing that they had sent her to him once already.  
  
"None of us are Jack!" one yelled.  
  
"We want to welcome our neighbors back!" another yelled.  
  
Detective Morris came to the door and shouted, "I need to get through and get some boxes from my car!"  
  
The line parted so that there was a path for her to walk through. Once she was gone, the path disappeared.  
  
"Boxes? Why do you need boxes?" one of the neighbors asked.  
  
"The girls have been adopted by someone who will take them well. We're moving them out." Officer Inglebrit replied.  
  
"Adopted?" a teenage girl, asked. "Were they adopted by that cute man sitting on the couch with Mariana?"  
  
"I'm not able to divulge anymore information. You all need to leave. We can't perform our duties!" Officer Inglebrit called out when she saw Detective Morris behind the pack of people.  
  
"Well, one quick question!" one of the neighbors said.  
  
Officer Inglebrit rolled her eyes, annoyed. "What?"  
  
"Well, none of us have ever been stabbed before, and we were just wonderin' if it hurts."  
  
"Have you ever cut yourself while you were cutting something to eat?"  
  
"Yep!" they all replied.  
  
"It hurts worse than that. Now go!" she yelled back.  
  
Grumbling the group dispersed and Detective Morris got through.  
  
~*~*~*~*~  
  
Five hours later, Luka looked into the room one last nighttime for the night and then shut the door.  
  
"Goodnight Dr. Kovac." The night nurse said as he waited for the elevator.  
  
"Goodnight."  
  
They had gotten all the twins things moved from their old apartment to Luka's apartment. Alexandria had a pair of clothes and her backpack. Luka would pick her up earlier the next morning to take her to school.  
  
After the papers had cleared, Alexandria could stay at Luka's. Even though she wanted to stay with her sister, she was glad that soon she'd be getting to sleep in a bed instead of on the creaky cot with little padding.  
  
The twin's furniture would be moved the next day.  
  
After he got home, he poured himself a glass of water. Sitting at the cupboard he opened the newspaper from the day Mariana had been rushed in. He hadn't looked at any since then.  
  
After going through that newspaper, he looked into the one of the day after she had been stabbed. News of her stabbing was in the paper. He read, interested. She was well respected, along with Alexandria, in her school.  
  
Today's, Monday's had news of the papers being signed, and the girls being adopted.  
  
The phone rang and Luka picked it up.  
  
"Hello?"  
  
"Hi, is this Luka?" a voice came through. He knew right away whose it was.  
  
"Yeah. How are you Detective Morris?"  
  
"Good. I just got a call from the county courts."  
  
"Did the papers clear?" he asked her. 


	5. Starting Over

Starting Over  
  
Luka rushed into the hospital through the ER doors. He wasn't used to using the regular entrance and had decided not to. He swiftly strode to the elevator and pressed the button. Abby passed him with an armful of supplies and stopped.  
  
"Where are you going?" Abby asked him.  
  
"To Mariana's room. I'm going to see how she is and take Alexandria to school before I come to work." Luka answered looking at her.  
  
Abby looked down at the ground, "So, are they yours now?"  
  
Luka nodded, smiling. "Yes."  
  
"Congratulations." Abby smiled back.  
  
"Thank you." The doors opened and Luka stepped into the elevator. "I'll see you in a little while."  
  
"Yeah." Abby said before walking off. The doors closed, shutting off Luka's view of Abby.  
  
He pressed the floor button. Within moments the doors opened and he walked over to the desk. "Did you get the paperwork from court?" he asked the nurse on desk. "I'm Luka Kovac."  
  
The nurse nodded her head. "Yes, Dr. Kovac. You are now the twin's father. Congratulations."  
  
Luka smiled again, "Thanks."  
  
He walked over to the door and knocked lightly. A minute later Alexandria opened and poked her head out. "Oh, hi!"  
  
She pulled back and let him enter the room before softly shutting the door.  
  
"The social worker called last night. The courts approved the papers. You two are now my daughters." Luka told Alexandria.  
  
A big smile lit up her face and she quickly leaned over and gave him a hug before putting some books in her bag. "It feels good to have some clean clothes on. I can't believe I stayed in those other clothes as long as I did." Alexandria muttered as she stuffed the dirty clothes in a duffel bag. "Do you mind if I leave the bag in your car instead of bringing it into school with me?"  
  
"No." Luka said. "Is there anything I can help you with?"  
  
Alexandria shook her head. "No. There's not much here. Thanks."  
  
"Yeah." Luka said and walked over to Mariana. He bent down by her bed and stroked her forehead. "How is she?"  
  
Alexandria walked over to the other side of the bed. "Fine. The nurses took her off the respirator and said she should be able to come home soon."  
  
Luka smiled. "That's exciting."  
  
He bent down and kissed her forehead before standing up. Alexandria was smiling as she watched a man, their new father, treat her sister kindly, not harshly. She quickly turned her gaze away and pulled the bedside drawer open.  
  
"I'm going to leave her a note." Alexandria said.  
  
She picked up the pencil and notebook that were sitting inside and opened them. Alexandria laughed a little.  
  
"What?" Luka asked her.  
  
"She wrote me a note. It says, 'Alexandria, don't worry about me. Go. Love, Ana.'" Alexandria said as she flipped to the next page laughing some more. "Go. It's all in caps too."  
  
Luka smiled. "I don't think you need to leave her a note."  
  
Alexandria looked down at her sleeping sister and then looked back at Luka. "Yeah. Will you come back up later to tell her that the papers were approved?"  
  
"Yeah."  
  
Alexandria smiled, put on her coat and picked up her bag. Luka put his arm around her shoulder as they walked towards his car.  
  
~*~*~*~*~  
  
Alexandria put her coat on the hook in her locker and then knelt down to take some books from her backpack. As she set them down in the bottom of her locker by the others she heard, "Alexandria!"  
  
She looked up and saw Mitchell jogging towards her. "Hi, Alexandria. How are you?"  
  
"I'm fine. I'm tired." Alexandria replied. "How are you?"  
  
"I'm okay. You look stressed." Mitchell observed before quickly adding, "I mean, it's understandable!"  
  
Alexandria laughed a little, "Yeah. Well, I don't look as bad as Ana."  
  
"How is she? I would've come in again but we had a family thing and then no one answered the phone when I called. I was worried." Mitchell said.  
  
"Oh! We were probably at the apartment packing up our stuff to get ready to move it." Alexandria explained. "She's doing all right. Her respirator was removed last night and the nurse said she should be going home soon. She's still in a lot of pain, though, and extremely tired."  
  
Mitchell nodded. "Do you think I could come see her tonight?"  
  
Alexandria smiled and nodded, "Yeah. I think it would be great for her to see someone besides Luka, the doctors and nurses and I."  
  
Mitchell gave her a puzzled glance. "Luka?"  
  
"Dr. Kovac. Have you met him?" Alexandria asked.  
  
  
  
"Yeah. You guys call him Luka now?" Mitchell asked her.  
  
Alexandria nodded. "Yeah. He adopted us. It was confirmed last night."  
  
"Really? That's great!" Mitchell exclaimed.  
  
"Yeah." Alexandria said as the warning bell rang. She quickly put her bag on the hook and grabbed the books for her next class.  
  
"Well, we should both get going. See you at lunch." Mitchell said as he walked off.  
  
"Yep. Bye!" Alexandria called out as she walked in the other direction.  
  
Alexandria made it to the class with thirty seconds to spare. She sat down as the final bell rang. She looked at the desk to see a sub sitting in the spot of her teacher. Warner Gardner walked in. When he saw Alexandria he quickly said, "Alexandria! How's Mariana?"  
  
"She's all right." Alexandria assured him.  
  
"Will she be coming back soon?" he asked.  
  
"She should be released from the hospital soon. But we're not sure how long it'll take before she can come back to school. She's still in a lot of pain." Alexandria told him.  
  
The sub got up and looked at the seating chart. "Alexandria Watkins." She muttered. "Are you Mariana Watkin's sister?"  
  
"Yes." Alexandria looked up. "How do you know about her?"  
  
"It's in the news. The police are asking people to keep a lookout for your father. He's going to be charged with the attempted murder of your sister." The sub said.  
  
"Serves him right!" a bunch of kids, including Warner, yelled.  
  
Alexandria shook her head, "He's not our father anymore. And it wasn't attempted murder. He never planned to kill her."  
  
The sub stared Alexandria strangely. "You forgive your father for almost killing your twin?"  
  
"My twin seems to have forgiven him. Why shouldn't I?" Alexandria countered. "And he's not our father anymore."  
  
"Mariana could not have forgiven him. He almost killed her." The sub replied icily. "Besides, if you two had forgiven him you wouldn't be denying the fact that he is your father."  
  
"Mariana loves him a lot. She always has. I believe that my sister has forgiven him." Alexandria glared at the woman. "And we are not denying the fact that he is our father. When I took some papers that would release us from his custody, he signed them."  
  
"How could he love you two if he hurt your sister that way?" the sub asked.  
  
"He gave us up so that we could have a better life." Alexandria whispered.  
  
~*~*~*~*~  
  
"Do you want to have lunch?" Abby asked Luka as they both took a break from work.  
  
"Yeah. But, I need to go do one thing. I promised Alexandria that I'd tell Mariana that the papers cleared." Luka told her, hoping she wouldn't get upset.  
  
Abby smiled. "Can I come with you? I assume I'll be seeing a lot of the girls now."  
  
Luka smiled back. "Yeah, you can come."  
  
He reached out and grabbed her hand as they walked from the lounge to the elevator. All the way up to the floor she had been moved from ICU to, they stood in silence, hands clasped together.  
  
They stepped out and he walked to the door, knocking.  
  
"Come in!" Mariana called out after a moment.  
  
He opened the door and walked in, still holding Abby's hand. He pulled two chairs up by her bed as she turned off the television.  
  
"How are you feeling?" he asked her.  
  
"It hurts. But it feels really good not to be hooked up to that respirator." Mariana replied.  
  
Luka smiled and said, "That's good." He pointed at Abby and said, "Mariana, I don't know if you know Abby. She knows you though. She's the nurse that worked with me when you were brought in."  
  
Mariana smiled and told Abby, "I thought you looked familiar."  
  
Abby smiled and said, "I'm glad to see you're feeling better."  
  
"Thanks."  
  
Luka focused his attention on Mariana again and said, "Ana. Alexandria already knows this and I promised her that I'd tell you. The courts cleared the papers. You two are now my daughters. Alexandria's decided that she'll start sleeping at the apartment tonight."  
  
Mariana smiled, "That's great! I'm glad she's getting off that squeaky old cot."  
  
Luka smiled back and looked at the tray in front of her. "Eating lunch?"  
  
Mariana scowled, "No. I'm waiting for them to take it away. It smells disgusting and looks just as gross."  
  
Abby pulled the chart off the end of the bed and glanced at it. Looking at Mariana she said, "Do you like hamburgers and french fries?" Mariana nodded. Looking at Luka, Abby said, "I think I'll quickly run over to Doc Magoos and get some food for us. She has no restrictions."  
  
"Great!" Luka said.  
  
As Abby walked towards the door Mariana said, "Don't get too much for me. I don't know what I could eat anyway."  
  
Ten minutes later Abby came back with drinks and food. Mariana didn't eat all of her meal and insisted that the other two eat what was left. They were talking and laughing when sets of beeps sounded. Luka and Abby both pulled out their pagers.  
  
"I'm gonna use the phone quickly," Abby said.  
  
She picked up the phone and dialed an extension.  
  
"County General Hospital emergency. This is Randi. How may I help you?" Randi answered.  
  
"Hi Randi. Its Abby. Dr. Kovac and I both got a page." Abby said.  
  
"Yeah. A woman investigated her neighbors when no one left the house. She called 911. There were five GSW's, three critical, one minor, one DOA. ETA five minutes." Randi told her.  
  
"Okay. Kovac and I'll be right down." Abby said and then hung up turning around to face Luka. "Four GSW's. ETA five minutes."  
  
Luka turned to Mariana. "All right, we have to go. I'll be picking Alexandria up from school and bringing her here before we go home."  
  
Mariana nodded. "Okay."  
  
"See you later honey." Luka said as he left the room, Abby right behind him.  
  
When they were in the elevator on their way back to the ER he looked at Abby and said, "Thank you."  
  
"For what?"  
  
"For eating with us. For getting us food so we could eat."  
  
Abby smiled and grabbed his hand, "No problem."  
  
~*~*~*~*~  
  
  
  
Luka was standing at the desk with Frank, Randi and Abby when Kerry left the exam room she was in.  
  
"Luka, did the mother make it?" Kerry asked wearily.  
  
"Yes." Luka answered.  
  
"Do you know about the other two kids?" Kerry asked.  
  
"Both are awake in the exam rooms." Luka answered again.  
  
"All right. The son didn't survive." Kerry looked around. "I'll go tell her."  
  
"Would you like me to?" Luka asked Kerry.  
  
"If you don't mind." Kerry sighed. "He was shot through the heart."  
  
Luka nodded and walked to his patient's room. Knocking on the door he walked in and pulled a stool closer to her bed.  
  
"Mrs. Patterson. Ally and Melissa are fine. You will be able to see them later tonight. Ben had been shot through the heart. The doctors tried, but there was no way they could repair the damage." Luka said slowly and softly. He looked into the woman's tear-filled eyes and said, "I'm sorry. Ben died."  
  
Tears began flowing down the woman's cheeks. She pressed her hands against her face until she was finally able to control her sobbing. Then she brought her hands down and looked at Luka. "My husband. He had been ch- cheating on me." The woman stammered with grief. "I confronted him earlier today after I got home from the grocery store and had seen them. He yelled at me for accusing him of something like that and then he…he pulled out a gun and pointed it at me! Ally, Melissa and Ben came in and when they saw him they all started yelling. He turned to them and shot them all, shooting Ben first, and then he turned back to me. He shot me and then when he saw what he had done he knelt beside and whispered, 'I'm sorry' and then he pointed the gun at his head and shot himself."  
  
Luka listened quietly to the sad story and then looked into her eyes. "I'm sorry."  
  
"My husband. Did he die?" the woman asked.  
  
Luka nodded. "He was DOA."  
  
Mrs. Patterson sighed and leaned her head back against the bed. "Someone should tell his little…thing!" she said angrily spitting out the last word.  
  
"Do you know who she is?" Luka asked her.  
  
Mrs. Patterson nodded. "My sister."  
  
Mrs. Patterson gave Luka a number of where he could reach her sister and told him to call her right away and let her know that he had died.  
  
~*~*~*~*~  
  
Luka walked into the ER with Alexandria at his side when a woman emerged from Mrs. Patterson's room.  
  
"He never loved you! You stole him away from me! You never loved him either! You just wanted to take him away from me! So you got yourself pregnant with his child! Too bad all your children weren't killed! This way you will never truly suffer for what you did to me, to us, to him!"  
  
With that the woman stalked out of the ER, her face red and tear-stained. Luka patted Alexandria's shoulder and said, "I'll be right back."  
  
Alexandria watched him run into the room the woman had just come out of. She was trying to figure out what had just happened when she spotted a little girl standing down the hall, tears streaming down her face.  
  
Alexandria walked over to her and set her bag on the floor. She sat on a chair and leaned forward placing her elbows on her knees.  
  
"What's your name?" Alexandria asked softly.  
  
"Ally." The little girl whispered.  
  
"Are you okay?" Alexandria asked, wondering if she was sick.  
  
Ally shook her head.  
  
"What's wrong?"  
  
"I was shot in the leg by my daddy." The girl said. "And my mommy and sister and brother were shot too. My brother died. So did my daddy cause he shot himself."  
  
Alexandria whispered, "I'm sorry. Do you want to sit in my lap for awhile?"  
  
Ally nodded and Alexandria helped her climb into her lap. She slowly rocked Ally and said, "Why were you just standing in the hall?"  
  
"I was going to see my mommy. The nurse said I could. When I was walking over there my aunt came out of her room yelling at her. My aunt wishes I was dead." Ally said causing more sobs. "She was blaming my mommy for it, but its not mommy's fault! Daddy was always mean. He hurt her and my sister Melissa. He'd hit them hard even if they didn't do anything wrong."  
  
As the little girl sobbed in her arms Alexandria closed her eyes remembering all the times her father would hit her mother for no reason. And then, after her mother's death, hit her sister.  
  
"It's going to be all right." Alexandria whispered.  
  
"How do you know?" the little girl asked.  
  
"Because, my daddy hit my mommy and my sister too. He almost killed my sister a couple days ago, but she's all right. And now we don't have to go back to him again." Alexandria explained.  
  
Ally's tense body relaxed in her arms and her sobs decreased. Alexandria rocked Ally for a while longer. Luka walked out of the room and smiled at the sight before him. "Is that Ally or Melissa?"  
  
Alexandria nodded and said, "It's Ally."  
  
Luka knelt down before them and said, "Hi Ally. I'm Dr. Kovac. Would you like to go see your mommy?"  
  
Ally nodded and Alexandria lightly pushed her off her lap, stood up, and then picked her up. They walked into Ally's mother's room.  
  
"Mommy!" Ally yelled happily. The woman's face was as red as the face of Ally's but she was smiling.  
  
"Hi Ally." She said.  
  
Alexandria put Ally on the floor and she ran forward into her mother's open arms.  
  
"Guess what?" Ally asked.  
  
"What?"  
  
"Everything will be okay." Ally said.  
  
"How do you know that?" Mrs. Patterson asked blinking back some more tears.  
  
"Because Alexandria said so. And her daddy was mean just like mine. She said that he almost killed her sister and now things are turning out to be better." Ally told her mother.  
  
Mrs. Patterson smiled and said, "I suppose you're right. Now that he's not here we don't have to worry about being hurt, do we?"  
  
Ally nodded and Mrs. Patterson looked up at Alexandria. "Thanks for talking to her. I wouldn't have known what to say."  
  
Alexandria smiled. "You're welcome."  
  
Luka smiled again and said, "Well, I'm going to get Alexandria upstairs to see that sister she was talking about. I'll see you later Mrs. Patterson."  
  
"Thanks Dr. Kovac." Mrs. Patterson said as they left the room.  
  
When Alexandria and Luka got upstairs Alexandria walked into Mariana's room and gave her surprised sister a hug.  
  
~*~*~*~*~  
  
Three days later Luka and Alexandria walked upstairs after he picked her up from school. Alexandria walked over to the door to Mariana's room and opened it up. The bed was empty. Re-made for someone else to use.  
  
"Luka! Where's Mariana?" Alexandria asked as panic took hold of her. 


	6. Going Home

Going Home  
  
"Where's my sister? Oh my gosh! Where is she?" Alexandria exclaimed. Fear spread through her body as she looked at the bed her sister had just occupied earlier that day. The bed was made, an extra blanket folded neatly set on the end of the bed, the pillow unused. "Where is Mariana?"  
  
Alexandria turned around and blinked, not believing what she saw. Mariana was standing by Luka; he had his arm around her, supporting her weak body. She had a wide smile on her face.  
  
"Hi Al," she whispered. Although her voice was pretty much back, little sounds of her breath could still be heard.  
  
Alexandria smiled breathing a sigh of relief as she rolled her eyes. "You are evil, Ana! The evil twin sister!"  
  
Mariana smiled. "Oh shut up! You're just saying that to cover up how scared you were when I wasn't in there."  
  
Alexandria nodded, "Yeah, I was a little worried."  
  
"A little?" Mariana asked as Alexandria walked up to her. "My dear sweet little sister…"  
  
"Only by a couple minutes Ana," Alexandria said walking up and hitting her twin lightly on the back. "Are you coming home?"  
  
Mariana nodded, "They let me out a little early."  
  
"Yeah. She still can't do much, she can't go to school and she shouldn't move around a lot," Luka said. "She's still weak, so we should get going now."  
  
Alexandria nodded and put her arm around Mariana who put her arm around her twin. Together, the three of them walked arm in arm out of the hospital.  
  
~*~*~*~*~  
  
Luka opened the door and walked in, Mariana behind him, Alexandria in the rear. Mariana looked around. "This is nice."  
  
Luka smiled. "Thanks. Alexandria, why don't you show Mariana your room?"  
  
Alexandria nodded. "Yeah, come on Ana."  
  
Mariana followed Alexandria into the room that was there's now. There were two beds, each one opposite ends of the room. There were two desks. The room wasn't overly large, but enough to make the girls feel comfortable. Alexandria walked over to the closet.  
  
"All our clothes and stuff have been moved in." Alexandria said, opening the doors.  
  
Mariana walked over and stood next to Alexandria as they looked into their new closet. "There's a good amount of space in there."  
  
Alexandria nodded as she walked into the middle of the rooms. "Which bed do you want?"  
  
"Doesn't matter to me." Mariana replied.  
  
Alexandria looked at the one she was standing closest too. She sat down saying, "I'll take this one then."  
  
Mariana nodded and sat down on the other bed. Lying down on her back she said, "It feels good to be out of the hospital. Do you have scissors?"  
  
Alexandria opened the drawers of one of the desks. She pulled some scissors and walked over to Mariana. "Here you go," she said sitting down on the bed. "Why do you want them?"  
  
Mariana held her arm up above her and pulled her jacket sleeve down. "I wanna cut off this bracelet."  
  
She picked up the scissors and slipped one of the blades beneath the bracelet, brushing her wrist lightly. She took a deep breath and then closed the scissors. The bracelet fell onto her face. She closed her eyes right before it touched her skin.  
  
Setting the scissors down beside her, Alexandria quickly picked them up as Mariana took the bracelet off of her face.  
  
"Girls," Luka called out from the next room. "Do you want to have something to eat?"  
  
Mariana smiled and sat up. "Yeah! I'll be right out!"  
  
She got off the bed and walked over to her desk. Opening the middle drawer she carefully set the bracelet in and closed the drawer.  
  
"What's wrong Ana?" Alexandria broke the silence.  
  
Mariana shook her head. "I'm really happy not to have to live with dad anymore. And I'm glad that Luka's the one that adopted us. But, it's still hard to believe that dad isn't my dad anymore."  
  
"Oh." Alexandria said quietly as Mariana walked out into the main room.  
  
"What would you like?" she heard Luka say as she got off of her sisters bed.  
  
"What do you have?"  
  
Alexandria stepped out of the room to see her sister sitting at the counter, watching Luka who was looking in cupboards and the refrigerator.  
  
"What were you eating at the hospital?" Luka asked.  
  
"Spaghetti-O's and other stuff like that," Mariana said before quickly adding, "Not like I really ate any of the hospitals food."  
  
Luka laughed. "So, would you like to start with something lighter like chicken noodle soup or do you wanna have something like a steak right away?"  
  
Mariana laughed slightly, stopping quickly to stop the small pain of laughing. "Something more like chicken noodle soup."  
  
Luka nodded. "Yeah, that's best."  
  
He pulled a can out of the cupboard and looked over at Alexandria who was leaning against the door. "Do you want anything to eat Alexandria? We have more cans of soup."  
  
Alexandria smiled and walked over. "Yeah, I'll have some soup too."  
  
"Soup it is then." Luka said and pulled two more cans out.  
  
Alexandria got on a stool that was next to Mariana's and looked over at her twin, smiling. Ana smiled and leaned over, resting her head on Alexandria's shoulder. Within no time the smell of the chicken broth filled the air and Luka was spooning the mixture of broth, noodles and chicken into bowls. He brought three bowls and set them on the counter. Opening a drawer he pulled out three soup spoons and set them on the counter next to the steaming bowls of soup. He grabbed a stool and pulled it around sitting in front of the girls.  
  
They began eating silently before Alexandria spoke up. "So, what are you like Luka?"  
  
Luka looked at her. "What do you mean?"  
  
"What kinds of things do you like? What kind of people do you hang out with? Where are you from?" Alexandria asked.  
  
Luka licked his lips and said, "Well, I like sports. I just hang out with people I meet. I spend a lot of time at the hospital working, but they're letting me cut back on my hours there now that I have you two here."  
  
He was about to go on but the phone rang. "Excuse me. I'm going to answer that quickly."  
  
He got up and grabbed the cordless phone that was on the wall. "Hello?"  
  
He stopped talking and smiled. It was a pleasant smile but it also told the girls he was a little nervous about something. Then, he started speaking a different language. Mariana and Alexandria looked at each other. Mariana raised her eyebrows and then ate another spoonful of her soup.  
  
~*~*~*~*~  
  
"Hello?" Luka answered.  
  
"Hi Luka," his mother replied in Croatian.  
  
He smiled, happy to hear from his mother, yet nervous. He had been planning on waiting until he knew how to tell his family that he had adopted twins. And that he had adopted them without being married. Sure, he hadn't gotten a woman pregnant, but still, his family didn't agree with children being the home before a loving marriage was established.  
  
"How are you Mom?" he asked her in his native tongue.  
  
"I'm fine. How are you?" she replied.  
  
"I'm fine."  
  
"I stopped by Danijela, Jasna and Marko's graves today. I left flowers. I know you don't want their graves to be bare." She told him.  
  
"Thank you mom." He said closing his eyes in pain. Danijela, Jasna, Marko. He pictured his family in his mind. His beautiful wife and his two children. He opened his eyes and found that he was leaning against the wall. He blinked some tears away from his eyes and turned around. He watched as Mariana and Alexandria were eating and talking. They were both smiling, Alexandria was laughing. It still hurt for Ana to laugh, he could tell whenever she did.  
  
Alexandria said something and Mariana burst out laughing along with her twin this time. Luka smiled.  
  
"Luka!" his mother exclaimed and he realized that he had completely tuned her out. "Are you listening to me?"  
  
"No. I'm sorry Mom. I got distracted."  
  
"Who's there? I hear laughing." She asked him.  
  
"Uh. Two girls." He said.  
  
"Girls? Why are there girls at your house?" his mother asked. "Are you dating two women?"  
  
Luka shook his head. "No! Two sixteen-year-old girls!"  
  
"What are they doing there?" his mother asked.  
  
"I-I adopted them."  
  
"You what?"  
  
"One of the girls was a patient of mine for a couple hours. She was stabbed by her father and I adopted her and her twin sister." Luka said.  
  
"Oh. I have two new grandchildren?" she asked.  
  
Luka smiled. "Yeah, I guess you do."  
  
"Are you engaged?" his mother asked.  
  
"No," Luka said. "But I felt like I had to adopt these girls. I thought about it and I knew that there was no question about it."  
  
"Are you still with that Abby girl?" his mother asked.  
  
"Yes. At least, I-I think so." He said. "She wasn't too happy about me adopting the girls, but she seems fine with it now."  
  
"What are their names?"  
  
"Mariana and Alexandria."  
  
"And they're sixteen?"  
  
Luka nodded. "Yes."  
  
"Well, sweetie, I have to get going. I just wanted to check in and see how you were doing. Say hi to your girls for me." His mother said.  
  
"I will," he said. "I love you Mom."  
  
"Volim te Luka." She replied and then hung up the phone.  
  
He pressed the on/off button with his thumb and slowly turned around. The girls were looking at him, Alexandria peering over her sister's shoulder.  
  
"What language were you speaking?" Mariana asked.  
  
"Croatian," Luka told her. "I'm from Croatian. That was my mom, just calling to check in."  
  
Mariana nodded. "I was wondering where you were from. Why did you leave?"  
  
"Uh, well. Because…" he stammered before deciding not answer. "Just because. Well, you should be able to start going back to school in a week. But you can take as much time as you want before you go back."  
  
Mariana nodded. "Okay. Can I call Mitchell?"  
  
Luka nodded and she picked up the phone and dialed his number.  
  
"Hi Mrs. Evans. This is Mariana…I'm okay…oh, thanks. But I'm fine. I'm out of the hospital now…I'm living with Luka Kovac…he adopted Alexandria and I…oh, well he was my doctor when I came in…yeah, Mitchell met him. Is Mitchell there?" Mariana asked. She waited awhile before saying, "Hey Mitchell…I'm out of the hospital now…Yeah, Luka…I can start going back in a week, but I don't know if I'm going to go back right away…I feel okay I guess, as good as someone who was nearly killed can feel…uh, the phone number is…"she looked at Luka and he wrote a number down, "555-2506…Oh! There was a beep!"  
  
"That's the call waiting." Luka told her.  
  
"Mitchell, can we talk some other time? Someone's calling Luka…Okay, bye!"  
  
Mariana handed the phone to Luka who answered the next caller. "Hello?"  
  
"Hi sweetie."  
  
"Abby!"  
  
"Are both girls moved in now?" Abby asked.  
  
Luka nodded. "Yeah, they are."  
  
"Luka, I was thinking, I was being rude when I totally objected to your adopting the twins-"  
  
"You weren't being rude Abby! You were just worried." He told her.  
  
"Still, I feel bad. I was thinking, tomorrow's Friday. Why don't I rent some movies and we could all get together and watch?" Abby asked.  
  
Luka smiled, "That sounds great! Let me check with the girls to see if they're up to it."  
  
"Up to what?" Alexandria asked.  
  
"Abby was thinking about renting movies and coming over. We could order out pizza." Luka said.  
  
"That sounds great!" Alexandria said.  
  
"But only if the movies are comedies. I've had enough action and drama for one week." Mariana said.  
  
Luka laughed, "Abby. You can come, but only if you bring comedies."  
  
~*~*~*~*~  
  
The next day Abby arrived after her shift was over. She had Legally Blonde and Miss Congeniality. Shortly after Abby arrived, the pizzas came.  
  
They spent the night watching movies, eating pizza, and having a good time. Luka smiled at the feeling, he felt like a family.  
  
It was the end of the Legally Blonde, when Gracie was kissing her new boyfriend. Luka looked over at Abby who looked at him, smiling. They leaned forward and kissed each other lightly on the lips.  
  
A/N: There is one Croatian: Volim te = I love you. 


	7. A Father Gained, a Father Lost

A Father Gained, a Father Lost  
  
  
  
Looking across the room to make sure that Alexandria was still asleep Mariana grabbed the chain around her neck and pulled the small heart-shaped locket out from beneath her shirt. Sure, people had seen the delicate gold chain around her neck before, but they had never asked what it was. No one, not even her twin, knew what was in that locket.  
  
She opened it up, the light slipping into the room from behind the closed curtains lighting up the room enough to cast a small beam on the picture inside. A picture of her father. Of the man who had abused her mother, to the point where her mother ended her own life to escape the abuse. Of the man who had abused her, to the point of slipping a knife into his own daughters abdomen, nearly killing her. Of the man who beneath all the hate, anger and drunkenness harbored a strong love for his twin girls.  
  
A single tear slipped from her eye and she pulled a hand up to her face to gently wipe it away. The single movement caused more tears to slip from her eyes. This man had treated her in a way no person should be treated. But his love for her and her sister had shown through when he had signed the papers, releasing them from his custody. He had given up the only bit of family he still had, so that they might have a better life, so that he wouldn't risk killing one of them again.  
  
She desperately wanted to see him one last time. He had come to her hospital room, but she had been asleep. He had left her a card, a get well card. Unusual that the man, who almost killed a person, would leave them a card. But he had, and he had left quickly so as not to upset his other daughter.  
  
Mariana wanted to thank him for giving them up. She'd have a good life with Luka. She would not be hurt again. Life should only get better, not worse. But the opportunity for her to thank him would not arise. She would not be going to his apartment anymore, thankfully. And if the police ever did catch him, she might see him in court, but there was a good chance she would not be able to thank him for his sacrifice.  
  
There was one possibility, however, that she could see him. But how could she pull it off? She was still weak from the stabbing. She had no key to get back into the apartment she now lived in if she did leave. But the urge to see him one last time and thank him was so strong. She pulled herself out of her bed and looked at her sister, breathing heavily, deep in sleep. Alexandria had seen him when he had signed the papers, she had been able to say goodbye. She had to get up early tomorrow to go to school; Mariana wasn't going to wake her at one in the morning.  
  
Soundlessly, Mariana shuffled to the bedroom door and opened it just a crack, slipping out. She moved around in the living room, opening drawers and cupboards. When she found no key she looked in the kitchen, examining all cupboards and drawers to no avail. She looked around the apartment and noticed the door to the coat closet. She hurried over, walking past the fish that were swimming lazily in their large tank. She opened the door and looked around the closet.  
  
She was in luck! Hidden behind some coats was a small hook. A key ring was hanging on the hook, and on that ring was one key. Perhaps it was a spare key to the door. She took it off the hook and quickly walked over to the door, unlocking it and opening it up. She slipped the key into the lock and twisted one way. In front of her, the door locked. She pulled it out and shut the door, locking it from the inside again.  
  
She grabbed her leather jacket from the closet and very softly shut the door. Draping her coat over the couch she quickly walked into her bedroom. Softly, so as not to wake her sister, she opened the closet and grabbed a pair of black pants and a white short-sleeved shirt. Slipping out of her pajamas and into the clothes she grabbed a pair of black shoes and slipped them on over her socks.  
  
She walked out of the room and into the bathroom. She found a comb and quickly ran it through her hair. That was about all she could do. Her face looked worn and pale. But there was no time for makeup. She had to go find her father. She figured he wouldn't be at the apartment, probably in one of his favorite bars.  
  
She walked back into the living room and grabbed her coat. Luka had a late shift at the hospital that night, filling in for Chen who had called in sick. He wouldn't be home until it was time to take Alexandria to school. She'd be back before then. As long as Alexandria didn't wake up, which Mariana was sure she wouldn't, no one but her father and herself would ever know that she was leaving in the middle of the night to see him.  
  
She put her coat on, buttoned one of the buttons. She unlocked the door and opened it up, walking out and locking it behind her.  
  
"Hi."  
  
Mariana jumped as she turned around. A woman was standing behind her.  
  
"Hi." Mariana whispered, smiling quickly.  
  
"You staying with Dr. Kovac?" the woman asked.  
  
Mariana nodded. "Yeah."  
  
"Are you a friend?" she asked.  
  
"Yeah, well, not really…" Mariana stammered. "I'm his daughter."  
  
"His daughter?" the woman furrowed her brow. "I would've remembered him having a daughter, especially one of your age. I have a son your age."  
  
Mariana smiled, "He adopted us."  
  
"Us?" the woman asked.  
  
Mariana mentally kicked herself. Smooth exit. Not only was she caught by a nosy neighbor but she said stupid things when she was trying to get away as soon as she could. Things that prompted her neighbor to ask more questions.  
  
"My twin sister." Mariana replied.  
  
"You look like you're not feeling well. You should go back inside, don't go anywhere." The woman said.  
  
"My friend has a problem," Mariana lied. "I need to go help her out."  
  
The woman smiled, "What a good friend you are to go help her in the middle of the night on a school night."  
  
The woman patted her shoulder, a pat that was a little too hard for Mariana. It jerked her body and she winced in the pain it sent shooting through her diaphragm.  
  
"Oh, I'm sorry. Shoulder pain? I'm a masseuse; I could give you a massage." The woman asked concerned.  
  
Mariana shook her head, "No, I had an accident recently. I…I hurt my…stomach. That's all."  
  
"Oh! What happened?" the woman asked.  
  
Mariana gaped for a moment, couldn't this woman mind her own business "I got a severe cut. I'm fine now, just still in a little pain if I'm moved the wrong way."  
  
"Well then you should really be lying down sweetie." The woman said.  
  
"I gotta go help my friend. She's probably wondering where I am." Mariana said.  
  
"Do you need a ride?" the woman asked.  
  
"No, I'll be fine." Mariana said.  
  
"You sure?" she asked.  
  
"Yes," Mariana said, "I-I have a car."  
  
The woman smiled. "Okay, don't get back too late."  
  
"I won't." Mariana smiled and walked down the hall.  
  
~*~*~*~*~  
  
It was his fifth drink in the past hour. He had been drinking fairly regularly since he had gone to see his daughter. She was so pale, hooked up to machines and monitors. As he had slipped the card under her blankets, he had felt the cut on her abdomen. A large one. How could he have done that to his daughter?  
  
He had come home drunk and angry, wanting to take his anger out on someone. She had been there, and hadn't answered his questions the way he had wanted her too. So he had gotten up to hit her. But somehow, a knife was in his hand. And he had plunged it into her stomach. As her blood had seeped out from around the knife which had been fastened to the handle in shock, she had stared at him. Her eyes had shown her shock, her pain, her horror. And when he had looked into them, growing darker in the pain, he had let go and ran out of there, passing Alexandria as he left.  
  
He would've called an ambulance if he had not seen his other daughter entering the apartment. But with her coming home he knew that Mariana would get the care she would need.  
  
The night before he had gone to see her he had been at his bar, drinking. Alexandria had come and he had signed away his paternal rights to the two girls. He did not know what had resulted of that, if they had found a home, if they were in a foster home, or a group home, or they were still at the hospital. But any of those place must have been better than the home he had been providing, or not providing, for them.  
  
Still, it hurt him to see them go. It hurt him to know that his daughter had almost died at a young age because of him. It hurt him to know that he had abused her endlessly before, taken out his anger at himself and at his other bar mates on her. He loved her, and her sister. He had loved their mother too.  
  
Thinking of their mother, Sandra, always brought a pang to his heart. He had loved her more than anything. He had adored her. But when he had lost his well-paying job he had drowned away his sorrows in alcohol, wasting even more of the little money they now had to get by on. And then she had gotten pregnant, not just with one child, but two. Twins. He had not only the responsibility of providing for a wife, but two children. And that had only driven him deeper into the needless alcohol.  
  
That's when he had started getting angry. That's when he had become abusive. That's when he had to give up the nice house, and move into the apartment with crazy neighbors. That's when had abused his wife, and she had killed herself to escape it. That's when he had made life for himself, but most importantly his for his wife and children, hell. Pure hell.  
  
And the hell he had now placed his two children into, was what had driven him to the bar again, not just for a night but nonstop. He was surprised that he hadn't passed out from being drunk.  
  
He could tell that the owners of this bar were about ready to kick him out too. It would be the third bar he had been kicked out of. He wasn't being kicked out because he had started fights, he had just been sitting in his seat, drinking. And he wasn't being kicked out because he was too drunk, which he definitely was. He was about to be kicked out because the fact was, these bars could only hold so many people because they were so small. And the owners depended on a certain number of drunks coming to their bars each night. And tonight, the place was empty, because people didn't want to be around Jack. Because the fact was, he smelled.  
  
He could see one of the owners getting up from his table to walk over to tell him to leave. Then the door opened.  
  
~*~*~*~*~  
  
Mariana stepped into her father's third favorite bar. She looked around, the place was surprisingly empty. The one thing about these bars is that even though there was an age limit, they didn't enforce it and keep the young people out. This is why she was able to just walk right in and walk to her fathers table.  
  
When she got closer to him she smelled the reason people were staying away. He was drunk, and hadn't taken a shower in awhile. He was in bad shape. She cautiously walked up, the owners watching her. They looked like they were hoping she would take him out. They had seen her come before, sometimes with Alexandria, sometimes alone. But they were out of luck this time. She wouldn't be taking him anywhere. She was just here to say goodbye.  
  
"Dad?" she asked and watched him. He didn't respond, just stared into his glass of, whatever concoction he had asked for this time. "Dad?"  
  
He still didn't respond. She yelled a little louder, "Dad?"  
  
His head snapped up, his eyes filled with bitter rage. "Lady, will you just shut your damn mouth?"  
  
Mariana waited for him to recognize her, she had been through this before. Although she had never seen him this drunk. Maybe it was a mistake to come here, she could be putting herself in danger. She was about to bolt, when she saw recognition start to dawn in his eyes.  
  
"Mariana?" he whispered in a strangled cry.  
  
"Yeah, daddy." Mariana's eyes began to well up with tears as she stared into his tear-filled eyes.  
  
"What are you doing here baby?" he asked her.  
  
"I came because I wanted to say goodbye. And thank you, for signing those papers. We're living with this really great guy. You did the right thing dad." She told him.  
  
He nodded. "The only time I've ever done the right thing for you two."  
  
Mariana smiled at him. "I love you dad."  
  
He looked up, his eyes wide. "And I love you! Never forget that...please! I love you!"  
  
Mariana nodded. "Yeah, I know you do. Thanks for the card."  
  
"How are you sweetie? What happened?" he asked.  
  
"Well, I had to have surgery to repair a tear in my diaphragm," she said and saw her fathers eyes widen in pain and shock. Quickly she added, "But its fine now. I'm out of the hospital. I can go back to school in a week."  
  
Jack smiled. "I'm glad you're not going to be down for long because of it."  
  
Mariana nodded. "Me too."  
  
But he wasn't listening. The door to the bar had opened and he was staring over her shoulder.  
  
"Watkins!" a gruff voice shouted.  
  
Mariana turned around as her father stood up behind her. A large man, his face filled with rage was standing in the doorway.  
  
"Do you have money?" the man asked.  
  
"Only for the drinks I've had tonight." Her father said quickly.  
  
"You've owed me for weeks. Either pay now, or I do something different." The man said.  
  
One of the owners stood up. "Hey, Jack's paying here tonight. He's not leaving without paying me after we haven't had any business at all tonight because of him. You two take your little bar brawl outside after Jack pays for his drinks."  
  
"No, we're gonna settle this now." The man said reaching into his coat and pulling out a gun. He pointed it in Jack's direction; only, Jack was blocked by Mariana's small, frail frame. "I'll take care of the young chick first."  
  
Mariana watched in horror, shocked to the point where she was unable to move. The man pointed the gun towards her chest, and pulled the trigger. From the behind her she heard her father cry, "No!"  
  
Soon, he was in front of her, and the bullet hit him squarely in the chest. He fell back, pushing Mariana to the ground as he fell. His back was lying across her legs as her body slammed to the hard wood floor. Pain racked through her body, and she felt a pull at her wound.  
  
She squinted, her eyes in pain and then opened them all the way. The pain blurred her image for a couple seconds but when she was able to see clearly she saw one of the bar owners pushing the man out of the door, while the other one ran to call an ambulance.  
  
She moved herself up on her elbows, wincing in the pain, and then looked to her father. Ignoring the pain she quickly sat up and pulled him up, closer to her, cradling his head in her arm, his body resting on her lap.  
  
"I'm sorry…I hurt…you…so bad…before…" he gasped as blood poured out of the small hole and down his shirt. He looked around for a moment, looking down at his now blood-soaked clothes, then to a red spot on Mariana's pants. "What's…wrong...Mari?"  
  
Mariana looked down and, with her free hand, unbuttoned her coat. Her shirt had a blood-stain on it. Some of her stitches had torn, opening her wound a little. "I'm fine daddy. You just, you just rest."  
  
He looked up at her. "Tell Alex…andria…that I love her…please. And…always…remember…that…I love you too."  
  
"I will dad. I love you too." Mariana said as hot salty tears began streaming down her face.  
  
He father raised one hand, wavering, and brushed aside the tears that were streaking her pale face. "You're…beautiful…Mari."  
  
And with that, his hand dropped to his side. His eyes rolled up to the back of his head as he took one last shuddering breath that shook his whole body. Jack died in the arms of his daughter.  
  
Mariana cried out, as a pained sob tore through her body. Dropping her head down to her father's blood-stained chest she sobbed, her body rocking back and forth as she held her dead father in her arms.  
  
~*~*~*~*~  
  
Minutes later, the ambulance wailed up, stopping in front of the bar. Two paramedics ran in, a stretcher between them. The bar owner met them. "The man died, but his daughter is hurt."  
  
The paramedics rushed over. "What's wrong miss?"  
  
Mariana looked up, her eyes heavy from the tears she had just cried. "He fell into me when he was shot, my stitches opened up."  
  
"Where are your stitches?" the woman asked.  
  
"By my diaphragm, I was stabbed a week ago." Mariana said.  
  
"Are you supposed to be in the hospital?" the woman asked.  
  
"No. I was released a couple days ago."  
  
"And your father brought you to a bar?" the woman asked.  
  
"No. I came here. I'm not living with him," Mariana told the confused woman. "It's a long story."  
  
The woman nodded. "We're going to take you to County General Hospital. From there you can work out your arrangements."  
  
Mariana nodded. "The guy who adopted me is on duty there in the ER now."  
  
The paramedic nodded. "Good. Do you mind riding in the same ambulance as this guy? We're going to take him to the hospital and they can put him in their morgue until things are taken care of."  
  
"I'd like to go in with him. I can walk to the ambulance." Mariana said.  
  
"All right. I'm really not supposed to let you do that, but I will." The woman said.  
  
She followed the stretcher outside. The cool air hit her face, freezing the streaks where her tears had flowed.  
  
They put the stretcher with her father lying on top, covered up completely by a white cloth, into the ambulance. Next they helped her in. A paramedic climbed in after her and the woman ran around to the front and sped off.  
  
The man turned to her. "Let me take a look at your cut."  
  
Mariana held her shirt up a little so that he could see it. "We don't need to worry about it yet. You'll be fine till we get to the hospital. A couple of the sutures broke so part of the wound is opened again."  
  
Mariana nodded and lowered the shirt, staring at the covered form of her father.  
  
~*~*~*~*~  
  
Alexandria rushed through the doors of the ER. She was filled with dread. She ran up to the desk. "Where's Dr. Kovac?"  
  
"Alexandria, what are you doing here?" he came up behind her.  
  
She turned around and saw him. "I woke up and Mariana wasn't in bed. She's not in the apartment; I don't know where she is!"  
  
Luka's eyes widened, his heartbeat quickened, and his face paled. "Okay."  
  
He pulled Alexandria into the admit desk area. "Randi, have you gotten any calls from any ambulances?"  
  
"No." Randi shook her head, snapping her gum.  
  
"Okay, we're gonna call the police." Luka said. He reached towards the phone but stopped halfway when an ambulance call came in.  
  
"A shooting at Dirk Lar's Bar. One DOA, one needs sutures. ETA two minutes." The call came.  
  
"That's one of my dad's favorite bars." Alexandria said, numb with shock.  
  
Luka ran to the ambulance bay. There was a cold, sleety rain coming down now. The ambulance screamed to a halt and the doors opened. Luka watched as a stretcher came out, not bothering to look inside.  
  
"Luka." He heard the voice from inside the ambulance. He looked in and saw Mariana sitting down.  
  
"Ana!" he shouted. He rushed forward as the paramedic pulled Mariana down and wrapped his arms around her. "What happened?"  
  
"This guy came in and threatened my dad and then said he was going to shoot me and then him. My dad stepped in front of us and was shot and the guy was kicked out," Mariana exclaimed hurriedly. "My dad fell into me after he was shot and the force of falling back tore a couple of the stitches."  
  
"Come on in. I'll get you stitched up again." Luka said and put his arm around her, walking her in.  
  
Alexandria was standing in the place where he had left her staring in shock. She saw Mariana and her eyes widened. She ran over. "Ana!" She gave her sister a hug and then hit her gently on the arm. "If you ever leave without telling me again, I will personally kill you myself."  
  
Mariana nodded. "Dad said he loves you Al."  
  
"Dad? When did you see dad?"  
  
"Just now. That's where I went. To say goodbye and thank him. He died, he was shot. I was the one the gun was aimed at, but he ran in front of me." Mariana said.  
  
The twins, shocked, sat quietly while Luka redid Mariana's stitches. Other ER workers popped in to see how everyone was doing. The whole ER, even those who didn't know the twins, were in shock at the sacrifice Mariana's abusive father made. 


	8. A Teary Farewell

A Teary Farewell  
  
  
  
Mariana looked in the mirror of the bathroom. She was wearing a black silk dress with a layer of black lace over. A silver chocker with black stones clung to her neck. Matching earrings and a bracelet adorned her ears and wrist. She had lightly brushed on eye shadow, mascara and lip gloss. She spritzed on some body spray and walked out of the bathroom where Alexandria and Luka were lined up waiting.  
  
  
  
Alexandria walked in, shutting the door behind her. Luka sighed and followed Mariana to the girl's room. He watched as she rummaged in the closet, looking for some shoes. She pulled on a pair of black heels.  
  
  
  
"Are you sure you'll be fine?" Luka asked. "Doing the eulogy?"  
  
  
  
Mariana looked up at him as she grabbed her small purse and slipped the small silver chain around her shoulders. She nodded, whispering, "Yes."  
  
  
  
She walked towards the door and Luka stepped aside so that she could walk out. Sitting on the couch she wearily closed her eyes. There was a knock on the door and Luka ran over to open it.  
  
  
  
"Luka!" Abby exclaimed somberly. "You're not dressed!"  
  
  
  
"Yeah," he replied. "I'm not used to living with two teenage girls."  
  
  
  
Abby laughed. "Haven't been able to get in yet?"  
  
  
  
Luka shook his head, "Nope."  
  
  
  
The door to the bathroom opened and Alexandria walked out wearing a long black dress that sparkled with dark red glitter. Around her neck hung a ruby necklace. The matching earrings hung from her ears and a bracelet was sitting on her wrist. She was carrying a purse that matched her dress, and wearing dark red heels.  
  
  
  
"Alexandria! You look wonderful!" Abby exclaimed as she walked to one of the chairs.  
  
  
  
"Thank you," Alexandria replied.  
  
  
  
Abby sat down and smiled at Mariana. "You look wonderful too, Mariana."  
  
  
  
Mariana looked at her. "Thank you."  
  
  
  
Alexandria walked to the other end of the couch and sat down. Mariana looked at her. "Al, are you sure you don't want to do part of the eulogy?"  
  
  
  
Alexandria nodded. "Yeah, you do it."  
  
  
  
Luka walked out of the bathroom, "Okay, everyone. I'm ready to go."  
  
  
  
Mariana and Alexandria looked up and stared at him in shock. In unison they said, "Already?"  
  
  
  
Luka laughed. "Yeah. Already."  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
The ER staff was standing in the church looking around. The Pastor walked up to them. "Hello. I'm Pastor Hart. How do you all know Jack?  
  
  
  
Everyone looked at each other. When it was clear no one was going to answer Elizabeth said, "We don't know Jack. We know his twins. We work with Dr. Kovac."  
  
  
  
Pastor Hart smiled and nodded. "It's very nice of you to come and show your support. The girls are in the sanctuary with Luka and Abby. When the funeral directors open the doors you can go in."  
  
  
  
He walked away to go talk with the other guests who were arriving. The group was silent. This was the first the time they had all gone to a funeral together since Mark had died.  
  
  
  
The doors to the sanctuary opened and everyone slowly began to trickle in. When the staff walked in they saw Luka and Abby sitting on a pew next to Mariana. Alexandria was standing in front of it.  
  
  
  
People walked up and touched Mariana's shoulder as they gazed at the body before giving Alexandria a hug and whispering words of sympathy to the girls.  
  
  
  
The hospital staff slowly walked up. Miraculously the man didn't smell as bad as he had the first time they had seen him.  
  
  
  
Luka and Abby looked up and smiled at the staff. "Hi guys," Luka whispered. "Thanks for coming." Elizabeth gave Alexandria a hug and smiled at Mariana. Jing-mei did the same. As the rest of the staff walked on, Romano hugged Alexandria before stepping into the pew and hugging Mariana. After he had done that he followed the rest of the staff as though nothing out of the ordinary had happened.  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
The funeral home directors closed the casket as Luka stroked Mariana's hair. As Abby stroked Alexandria's. The funeral started and the Pastor spoke. But the funeral was awkward. What do you say about an abusive drunk? Who cries for a man who provoked the suicide of his wife, and stabbed his daughter?  
  
  
  
That daughter who he stabbed. That's who was sitting in the pew with tears streaming down her face as the man next to her rubbed her back and tried to comfort her.  
  
  
  
A few songs were sung, a few words were said, and then the Pastor looked towards that daughter and said, "No one has the right to give the eulogy for Jack more than the two girls who knew him the most. So, it is with that said, that I am going to bring Mariana up."  
  
  
  
Mariana stood up shakily and looked to her side where Luka, Alexandria and Abby were sitting, smiling encouragingly.  
  
  
  
She walked up to the pulpit and looked out over the parishioners. She was surprised at the number of people there. There were people she knew a little from the Sunday's she had worshiped at the church. A group of her friend's from school had gotten out to come for the service. Her neighbors from her old apartment were sitting in the back two rows, all smiling broadly and waving ecstatically. From the looks of them you'd think they were at a wedding, not a funeral. The ER staff was all huddled together in one of the pews. And there was a slim, older lady who looked somewhat familiar, sitting and staring at Mariana, burning a hole into her head.  
  
  
  
Mariana pulled her eyes away from the lady, not knowing what to say. She had thought she had it all planned out, but now she was not so sure.  
  
  
  
"What do you say about a man who abused his wife until she committed suicide? What do you say about a man who abused his children? What do you say about a drunk? What do you say about a man who nearly killed his daughter, that wouldn't tarnish his memory?" Mariana started out, looking around before answering her question. "You have to look past all the bad stuff, and see the good. You have to see the man who kissed his wife goodnight every night. You have to see the man who sang lullabies to his children after they woke up from nightmares. You have to see the man who placed a rose on his dead wife's graves every day."  
  
  
  
She paused and looked around at the stunned faces. "You have to see the man who left a get well card for his daughter after he stabbed her, a man who signed away his paternal rights so that his children could be adopted into a better home. You have to see the man who died jumping in front of a bullet that was meant for the daughter he had stabbed."  
  
  
  
She sighed. "I don't know what else to say. People think my father was a jerk. And he was. But he was a loving jerk," the hospital staff looked at Romano. "And I know he loved Alexandria and I."  
  
  
  
Tears began streaming down her face as she looked at the casket and then up at the ceiling. "And I love you too Daddy!"  
  
  
  
She smiled quickly and wiped at the tears that still continued to flow freely down her face. Stepping away from the pulpit, she ran down the aisle and out of the doors.  
  
  
  
Alexandria got up and quickly followed her sister as the rest of the people at the funeral sat silently, stunned, shocked at the abused daughters loving words for her abusive father.  
  
  
  
Luka quickly got up and ran out, Abby following close behind. Pastor Hart stood up and followed. But one thing the three adults didn't realize as they approached the swinging door was that someone else had gone after the twins just a moment before.  
  
  
  
A/N: We decided to combine all the episodes into one story, since the story really goes in order. Sorry for any confusion that may have caused. 


	9. The Stealing Aunt

The Stealing Aunt  
  
  
  
Luka ran out of the sanctuary and looked around. He saw them right in front of him, through the large bay window. A woman was pulling them towards the parking lot. Luka's eyes widened and he ran down the stairs and out the door, Abby close behind.  
  
  
  
"Hey!" he called out, running forward. "Alexandria! Mariana!"  
  
  
  
The girls both looked around.  
  
  
  
"Luka!" Mariana called out, her eyes filled with tears. "Luka, help!"  
  
  
  
Luka ran in front of the woman, not letting her get past him. "Who do you think you are?"  
  
  
  
"I'm the girl's aunt!" the enraged woman replied. "Who do you think you are?"  
  
  
  
"I'm the girl's father," Luka told her.  
  
  
  
The woman laughed. "Sure you are. Their father is in that church, lying in a casket!"  
  
  
  
"I'm their adoptive father! He signed custody release papers, and I adopted them. Legally, I'm their father!" he told the woman.  
  
  
  
The woman smiled. "Well, thank you for taking care of them for as long as you have, but I'm their Aunt, their biological aunt, and I think they should be with me."  
  
  
  
"Where have you been all these years?" Luka asked.  
  
  
  
"In Colombia. She's been there for as long as I can remember," came the pained reply from Mariana. Abby was standing behind them, glaring at the woman.  
  
  
  
Luka stepped beside the woman and Mariana. Gently grabbing the woman's arm in one hand, Ana's in the other, he pried the woman's hand off of Ana's. Gently pushing Ana towards Abby, he then did the same with Alexandria.  
  
  
  
"What do you think you are doing Mr.…" the woman asked him.  
  
"Kovac. Dr. Kovac," Luka told her before saying, "The way you were pulling on Alexandria and Mariana, you could have pulled their arm out of its socket. And poor Mariana, you were pulling her at an angle that would pull at her wound."  
  
  
  
"What wound?" the woman asked.  
  
  
  
"May I ask what your name is?" Luka asked her.  
  
  
  
"Koryn. What wound?" Koryn demanded.  
  
  
  
"Jack stabbed her. As her aunt, that's something you should've know," Luka said.  
  
  
  
"Oh, sweetie, that's too bad. You know, Jack was never abusive until those girls were born," Koryn said.  
  
  
  
Luka nodded. "Okay. Well, I should take the girls home now. They've had quite a day."  
  
  
  
Koryn smiled. "Oh, that won't be necessary. I'll just take them to my hotel. We're leaving tomorrow night for Colombia."  
  
  
  
Luka smiled back at the woman, "You're not taking them to Colombia."  
  
  
  
"And why not?" Koryn asked smugly.  
  
  
  
"Because, I am now their father and I say that they cannot go to Colombia at this time," Luka told her.  
  
  
  
Koryn laughed. "Yes, but I am their biological aunt, and since now I am here, I should take them. I'm their family, you're not."  
  
  
  
"I'm going to take the girls home now," Luka said. Putting his arm around Alexandria he walked to his car, Abby following with her arm around Mariana.  
  
  
  
"Excuse me!" Koryn yelled, running after them. "Bring the girls back here now! They are coming with me!"  
  
  
  
Luka opened the back door of the car, and let Alexandria get in. Abby opened the other side and Mariana got in beside her twin.  
  
"No, they're coming home with me," Luka told her.  
  
  
  
He walked up to the front and got in the car, Abby shutting her door a minute after his.  
  
  
  
Koryn walked up and pulled the handle on Alexandria's door, but Luka had already locked the car up. He turned the car on, and rolled the window down in an inch to yell out. "Can you please leave the side of my car? We're leaving now."  
  
  
  
Koryn looked at him and then quickly ran towards her car. Luka pulled out of the parking lot, knowing that she would not make it in time to follow them home.  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
Koryn shoved the key card into the lock and when the light flashed green, she angrily pushed the door open. It slammed against the wall as she walked in, and then slammed back into place. She threw the key onto the bed and stormed over to the phone. Dialing the extension to get out she called the operator.  
  
  
  
"Hello. This Kylie, how may I help you?" the operator asked.  
  
  
  
"Yes, I'm looking for a phone number in the Chicago area," Koryn said.  
  
  
  
"First and last name please," the operator replied.  
  
  
  
Koryn sighed. "I know his last name, but not his first."  
  
  
  
"We can do a search on his last name for you then," she told Koryn.  
  
  
  
"Great! His last name is Kovac. He's a doctor, if that helps," Koryn added.  
  
  
  
There was a pause and then the operator said, "There's one Kovac listed. Dr. Luka Kovac."  
  
  
  
"Can I have his number?" Koryn asked.  
  
  
  
"Yes you may. It is 555-2588," the operator told her.  
  
  
  
Koryn quickly scribbled the number down on a piece of paper. "Thanks, can I have that address too?"  
  
  
  
The operator told her what the address was and after thanking her, Koryn hung up. She'd pay Dr. Kovac a visit later that night. Well, not Dr. Kovac necessarily, but the twins would definitely be seeing their aunt.  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
Mariana was trying to get to sleep when she heard a tap on her window. She looked over and saw her aunt smiling and waving from outside. Mariana rolled her eyes, and then pulled the covers over her head, hoping she'd fall asleep.  
  
  
  
She quickly pulled the covers away from her face when she heard a crash. Stupid mistake, she thought as two pieces of glass ran across her cheek, making two cuts. Alexandria ran into the room followed by Luka and Abby. The three had been out in the living room.  
  
  
  
Koryn quickly grabbed Mariana and Alexandria and then jumped down from the ladder she was standing on, pulling the girls with her. Luka ran over to the window and looked down as they landed with a thud on the ground.  
  
  
  
Koryn quickly got up and grabbed the girls, dragging them over to her car. She opened the backseat and shoved Mariana in first, then Alexandria.  
  
  
  
Luka quickly ran away from the window and out of his apartment to his car. "I'll call the police!" Abby yelled behind him.  
  
  
  
When Luka got in his car and turned it on, he sat, thinking about what Koryn had said earlier that day. They were leaving tomorrow night.  
  
  
  
He didn't know what hotel she was staying in, but he'd travel to them all to find the twins and bring them back home before Koryn took them away.  
  
  
  
After an exhaustive search he stumbled into the sixth Best Western he had been too. Walking to the front desk he said, "Miss, I'm trying to find Koryn Watson, and I'm wondering if she's staying here.  
  
  
  
The stewardess behind the counter typed the name into her computer and said, "I'm sorry. She just checked out two hours ago. Said she wanted to leave early."  
  
  
  
"Thanks," Luka said before running out the door back to his car. He got in and drove as quickly as he could, making it to the airport in a half hour. He got in and checked the computer screens. There was no flight going to Colombia."  
  
  
  
He ran to one of the desks, "Hi, I'm looking for two passengers. I don't know what flight they're on, but it's really important I find them."  
  
  
  
"I'm sorry, I can't tell you what flight any of our passengers are on," the man told him.  
  
  
  
Luka sighed. "Look, this lady is taking my daughters out of the country without my permission. And I'm worried about one of them flying. I'm a doctor, and she was just heard badly last week, I'm not sure if she should be flying right now."  
  
  
  
The man sighed again. "Who are you looking for?"  
  
  
  
"Mariana Watkins and Alexandria Watkins," Luka told him.  
  
  
  
"How do you spell their names?"  
  
  
  
Luka told him the spellings and the man typed them into the computer. "I'm sorry," he said. "Their plane just took off a half-hour ago."  
  
  
  
Luka sighed, "You can't call them back or anything?"  
  
  
  
The man shook his head. "No, I'm sorry."  
  
  
  
"Okay, well, where are they going?"  
  
  
  
"Venezuela."  
  
  
  
Luka sighed again, "Okay."  
  
  
  
He walked away from the desk and took his cell phone out of his front pocket. Dialing his number he waited for Abby to answer.  
  
  
  
"Hello?" he heard Abby answer.  
  
  
  
"Hi Abby," he sighed wearily.  
  
  
  
"Luka? Where are you? Have you found them yet? The police are here now," Abby informed him.  
  
  
  
"Yeah, I found them," Luka said.  
  
  
  
"Where y'at?" she asked hurriedly, slurring her words together in her excitement.  
  
  
  
"At the airport," he sighed.  
  
  
  
"Why are you at the airport?" Abby asked.  
  
  
  
"Her hotel told me that Koryn decided to leave early. They left for Venezuela a half-hour ago. Wanna go to Colombia?"  
  
  
  
Abby laughed slightly. "Why don't you go get them? I'll stay at the apartment and wait for the window to get fixed."  
  
  
  
"Okay. I'm gonna come home and get my passport, and some clothes. Then I'll come back."  
  
  
  
"Okay, I'll see you in a bit honey."  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
Luka had just finished packing his clothes. He assured the police that he was fine; he'd just go get his girls back.  
  
  
  
Abby was standing by the door as he was getting his clothes and some reading material together. He grabbed his passport and shoved it into his backpack. Lugging his small duffel bag and his backpack out he stopped, putting the backpack on and slinging the duffel around his shoulder. He walked over to Abby and stopped before her. Smiling he put his hands on her shoulders and kissed her tenderly on the lips.  
  
  
  
He walked out the door, on his way to Colombia to get his new twin daughters back. Abby watched him as he waited for the elevator to arrive, smiling. The elevator came and before he stepped on he looked towards her.  
  
  
  
"I love you Abby." 


	10. To Hell and Back!

Disclaimer: Anything you recognize does not belong to me. Anything you don't recognize, I made up. I am not making any money off of these stories, no infringement is intended.  
  
A/N: Not sure how realistic this is at the moment, but, oh well. Also, sorry if these stories are moving a little slowly at the moment, the good things are yet to come, and will be coming up in a few more chapters. I put the disclaimer here because I'm not sure if I put one on yet (oops) but that is the disclaimer for the season.  
  
Acknowledgements: I would like thank all those who have reviewed. Sorry to those people who reviewed on a story when I had them separately and the review was lost when I put them together. I just want to let you know that the review was appreciated. And the biggest thanks goes to my sister Cloey who gives me ideas and helps me write!  
  
Now, on with the story…  
  
To Hell and Back!  
  
  
  
Everything sped past the window as the plane glided back down to earth. The jolt jerked Luka forward and back slightly as it landed, speeding down the runway at a dizzying speed. Flying wasn't number one on Luka's list of favorite things. But a desperate time called for desperate measures, and right now was definitely a desperate time.  
  
There was a sound and a woman said, "The weather outside is 79 degrees. We hope you've enjoyed your flight and will check out World Air again."  
  
Oh, sure! I thoroughly enjoyed this flight! Trying to call around and find out where Koryn Watkins works in Colombia so that when I get there I can find the twins, while the man behind me is complaining about every little thing! Luka thought.  
  
The plane stopped completely and people started to get up, opening the compartments above them to bring out bags and other items. Luka unbuckled the seat belt and grabbed his backpack, waiting for the other people who were in his row to get their bags from the compartment overhead and move on. He was glad he hadn't stored his things up there, seeing how all the bags had been jostled around during the turbulence they had encountered in the flight.  
  
The people slammed the door shut and moved ahead, giving Luka some space to slip out. He was prevented from moving, however, when a child from the row ahead of him quickly moved out in front him. Luka stopped and looked around at the other passengers. He looked behind him just in time to see the man who had complained about everything open the overhead compartment by his row. A large bag fell out hitting him on the head.  
  
"Ow!" the man shouted. "You people should put some kind of warning that bags fly out of here when opened!"  
  
"They do," Luka said, pointing at the sign and reading it. "Be careful when opening. Items may be moved around during flight."  
  
"Shut up buddy," the man snarled and picked his bag up off the floor.  
  
Luka smiled and looked in front of him again. The line was moving ahead now, and Luka quickly joined all the other passengers deplaning. The flight attendants were standing by the door, smiling and saying goodbye in both English and Spanish. Luka smiled and nodded his head politely as he stepped into the terminal and walked up to the airport.  
  
Stepping into the airport he followed the signs to the baggage claim and waited with everyone else until the bags began moving around. When Luka's small duffel came he picked it up and followed the signs to the rental car station.  
  
After he had rented his car he stopped outside with the keys into the heat. He found the car he had rented and got inside. He opened up his backpack and found the information he had gotten while on the phone.  
  
Koryn Watkins worked in a makeshift hospital in a small town of Colombia. He'd be able to find her there, and if she wasn't on duty at the time, he'd be able to find where she lived. All he needed was a map of Venezuela and a map of Colombia to get there. He had already gotten the money he needed to use in both Venezuela and Colombia before he left the states, now all he needed to do was find someplace he could buy a map.  
  
  
  
Alexandria was lying on the bed in the room that Aunt Koryn had put her and Mariana in. It was small, and the beds were literally only an inch apart, and pushed as far against the wall as they could be.  
  
Mariana came in and slowly lay down on her bed, which in her mind were worse than hospital beds at County. "Can't Aunt Koryn get better beds than this? I've seen hers, and it is much nicer. Even the beds at County were more comfortable than this."  
  
Alexandria laughed. "Even the cot at County was better than this."  
  
Mariana smiled too, resting her hand slightly on her abdomen. "Do you think Luka will come get us?"  
  
"Of course he will, Ana. He wouldn't let Aunt Koryn take us like this and get away with it," Alexandria assured her sister in something she firmly believed in.  
  
Mariana smiled, "That's good. Because she took away my aspirin."  
  
Aunt Koryn poked her head in the room. "Shut up you two and get to sleep. We have a big day tomorrow."  
  
She slammed the door shut as she walked away. Mariana looked at Alexandria and whispered, "Gosh, even living with dad was better than this."  
  
Alexandria smiled, whispering back, "I totally agree!"  
  
  
  
Three Days Later  
  
  
  
Luka woke up in his hotel room. Rubbing the sleep out of his eyes he sat up in bed and pulled out the drawer. He took out his cell phone, surprised that he was able to use all the way in Colombia.  
  
Dialing his phone number he knew Abby would pick up. She had been staying in his apartment while they were gone. "Hello?"  
  
"Hey, Abby. Did I wake you?" Luka asked.  
  
"No, I just got back from a double shift at County. Haleh is sick," Abby replied.  
  
Luka frowned, "Oh! That stinks!"  
  
Abby laughed, "Yeah, it does. How are things going with finding the twins?"  
  
Luka sighed, "Well, I arrived at this town last night and stopped at a hotel right away. I just woke up. The thing is, no one but the residents of the town know the exact address of this place, and since I don't know Spanish, I can't exactly ask anyone."  
  
Abby nodded, even though she knew he wouldn't be able to see her. "So, what are you going to do?"  
  
"I guess just drive around and hope I spot it. And if I don't, I'll just go into all the buildings and check them out," Luka told her.  
  
"What are you going to do when you find the place?" Abby asked him.  
  
"I'm not sure yet," Luka admitted. "But I will get the girls back, even if I have to kidnap them again."  
  
Abby laughed, "Hopefully you'll be able to work something out with Koryn."  
  
"That's what I am hoping," Luka replied.  
  
"I hate to cut this conversation short," Abby started. "But a man who had the flu threw up on me, and I'm really tired. So, I'm gonna take a shower and go to bed."  
  
"That's fine. I might have a whole search day ahead of me and I don't want to lose time," Luka replied.  
  
"I'll talk to you later then?" Abby questioned.  
  
Luka smiled, "Yeah, sweetie. I'll call you the minute I know what's happening with the girls."  
  
"Okay, good. I'll talk to you later then. Love ya honey!" Abby said.  
  
"I love you too, Abby," he said before hanging up.  
  
  
  
Luka stopped at a building where he had just seen a father carrying a sick child into. Maybe this was this place. He got out of the car and walked into the building. A woman behind a desk smiled and greeted him, "Hola!"  
  
Luka smiled at the woman, "Uh, hi. Do you speak English?"  
  
The woman shook her head, still smiling. Holding up one finger she said, "Un momento."  
  
He smiled at her as she rushed off and leaned wearily against the counter. A minute later she returned, followed by Koryn. She told Koryn something in Spanish and Koryn approached him.  
  
"Hello sir…" she started to say until she got a better look at him. Then she scowled saying, "What the hell are you doing here?"  
  
"I'm here to get my girls back," Luka told her. "And I'm not leaving without them."  
  
Koryn sighed. "Why do you want the girls so badly? They screwed up my brother's life; they're just going to screw up yours. They're bad luck!"  
  
Luka glared at the woman, "They didn't screw up your brother's life, your brother screwed up his life. And, if they're such bad luck, why do you want them?"  
  
"I wanted them because we needed extra workers," Koryn told him. "But, they suck as workers and have turned out to be more of a burden."  
  
"Where are they? I want to see them," Luka told the woman.  
  
"Come with me, I'll take you to them. And you can take them back if you want, I don't need them if they're not gonna work," Koryn said as she led Luka back to a room.  
  
When he entered he saw the girls in a kitchen, washing dishes. They were both wearing floor-length black dresses, with white aprons over them, and white bonnets tied around their face.  
  
They smiled brightly when they saw him and Luka hugged Alexandria tightly. Then he moved to Mariana and hugged her as well. When he pulled back he saw a little bit of red, peeking around both ends of the string of the bonnet. He untied it and pushed it away, seeing two scratches.  
  
"What happened?" he asked her, touching them slightly.  
  
"I got cut when she broke the window in your apartment," Mariana told him.  
  
He turned around and glared at the woman. "At least you cleaned out the cut."  
  
He put one arm around Mariana's shoulders, and the other around Alexandria's. "I'm going to take the girls home now. I'd appreciate it if you wouldn't visit us again."  
  
Koryn smirked, "The only reason I came at all was to get the girls and bring them here so they could help. Now that I've found they're completely useless, I don't want them anymore."  
  
She reached into her pocket and pulled something out, handing it to Alexandria. "Here's one of the keys to my apartment. You can get your passports. Leave the key on the kitchen table."  
  
Alexandria sat up front with Luka and directed him on how to get to her aunt's house. Along the way they talked, "How did Koryn get your passports?"  
  
"Dad had us get passports when were fourteen. Later he put them into storage with a bunch of his parents stuff. He and Koryn both have keys to the storage. She probably got them from there when she got to Chicago."  
  
"Did she treat you two okay?" Luka asked.  
  
"She didn't hurt us, but her place sucks. I mean, her room is nice and everything, but we get this little closet with beds worse than County's cots!"  
  
Luka smiled, "Well, I'm glad you two are safe."  
  
They arrived at the apartment and Alexandria told Mariana to stay in the car. She ran out and came back a few minutes later with the passports.  
  
Luka told them the plan: they'd go back to his hotel, spend the night there, then they'd begin driving back to Venezuela where they'd get on the next flight back to the States.  
  
A few days later, they deplaned in Florida, and got on their next flight to take them to Chicago.  
  
  
  
Coming soon: Back Track! 


	11. Back Track

A/N: Okay, the good stuff is coming up in the next chapter; this is kinda a gap-filler type I guess. It's not the best of the series, but don't worry! The good stuff is yet to come! The songs used in this are Tu Robaste Mi Corazon by Selena. The other song mentioned after that is Tequila by Eduardo Verastagui. I wrote out the lyrics for Tu Robaste Mi Corazon, but my computer doesn't put accent marks on things well. Sorry that some of the words that should have accent marks, don't. Well, that's all.  
  
Back Track  
  
  
  
Abby looked at the door as she heard someone slip a key in the lock. Luka and the twins were home! They opened the door and she smiled brightly running over to Luka and throwing her arms around him in a big hug. She hugged the twins next and then followed them to sit on the couch.  
  
"How was your flight?" she asked.  
  
Luka yawned, "Tiring. The girls got some sleep but I wasn't able too."  
  
Abby smiled at him. "Poor Luka," she said and then looked at the girls. "Hey, would you guys like some supper? I can fix you guys something?"  
  
Alexandria looked up and smiled, "Yeah, that would be great!"  
  
"What about you Ana?" Abby asked.  
  
"Yes, please."  
  
"Luka?"  
  
He smiled, "Yes, thank you honey."  
  
Abby smiled back at them. "No problem."  
  
She went into the kitchen and Mariana looked at Luka. "Can I call Mitchell?"  
  
Luka nodded his head, "Go ahead sweetie."  
  
She smiled at him, "Thanks Luka," she grabbed the cordless phone and walked towards her room. When she got back to the door she turned around and said, "And thanks for coming to get us."  
  
"I wanted too. I missed you guys," Luka said.  
  
  
  
The phone rang twice before Mitchell picked it up. "Ana?"  
  
Mariana smiled. "Hey Mitchell!"  
  
"What happened? I called the day after the funeral to see if you were okay. I wanted to call after I got home but my mom said that I needed to give you time. And then when I called the next day this lady answered and said that you were in Colombia?" Mitchell asked.  
  
Mariana sighed, "Yeah, I was in Colombia."  
  
There was a pause and then Mitchell asked, "What the hell were you doing in Colombia? I was worried sick about you baby!"  
  
Mariana smiled and told him, "You know my Aunt Koryn?"  
  
"That bitch who always blamed you for your dad's abusive behavior?" he asked.  
  
Mariana smiled wider and said, "Yeah, her. Well, she came and kidnapped us. We flew to Venezuela and then from there went to Colombia. And she made us work as nurses aides in this hospital thing she owns. And Luka came and got us back. But she was ready and willing to give us up. Said we didn't work hard enough."  
  
Mitchell laughed, "What, did you expect you guys to do slave work?"  
  
"Yeah! Pretty much!" Mariana said before mimicking her aunt. "Do this, and do that. And make sure this gets done. And then make sure this happens! Get a move on it! You're not working hard enough! Why did you yell at that poor man? He's sick! And I'm like, well, excuse me! But I had no damn clue what he was saying! I only sing songs in Spanish, I have no clue what I'm singing when I do though! And I was trying to tell him I'd go find someone, but he wasn't listening!"  
  
Mitchell sighed, "My poor, sweet Mariana."  
  
Mariana sighed, "Yeah, so what's up?"  
  
"There are a bunch of rumors flying around school. No one knows quite what happened. Only that you were hurt, your died dad, and now people are saying you were sold by someone for drug money!"  
  
Mariana laughed. "Aw! The way rumors fly!"  
  
"Yeah, so, the Principal asked me to give you his phone number and he told me to have you call him if I heard from you," Mitchell told her.  
  
Mariana nodded, "Okay, what day is it?"  
  
"Friday. Next week is a short week, only two days," Mitchell said.  
  
"Okay," Ana replied. "What's Principal Heggerts number?"  
  
"Five," Mitchell told her.  
  
Mariana smiled into the phone, "I need a little more than that buddy."  
  
"Five straight across the board," Mitchell replied.  
  
"Seriously?"  
  
"Yup."  
  
"Okay, well, I should call him," Mariana said.  
  
"Yeah, I'll talk to you soon baby," Mitchell said.  
  
"Yeah, bye," Mariana said and then hung up. Dialing the number it rang twice before a woman answered. "Hi, may I please talk to Principal Heggerts?"  
  
"Yes," the woman said and then yelled, "Harry!" she returned to the phone and said, "Is this Mariana Watkins?"  
  
"Yeah."  
  
"Oh! Hi sweetie! How are you? Heard you were sold for drug money," the lady said.  
  
Mariana rolled her eyes, "That was just a rumor."  
  
"Oh, so what happened? Oh! Never mind. My husband is here," the woman said and then passed the phone to Principal Heggerts.  
  
"Hello?" her principal came on the other line.  
  
"Hi Principal Heggerts. This is Mariana," she began.  
  
"Hi Ana!" he greeted her enthusiastically. "How are you doing?"  
  
"I'm fine, I guess," Mariana replied.  
  
"You've had a soap opera type life the past couple of days, haven't ya?" he asked.  
  
Mariana nodded her head, "Yeah, I guess you could say that I have."  
  
"So, what exactly happened?" Principal Heggerts asked.  
  
"Uh, well, I was stabbed by my father. Then he signed custody release papers, and this really nice doctor at County adopted us. I snuck out of the house one time to go see my father to say goodbye and while I was at the bar, this dude came in and shot my father, but he meant to shoot me my dad just jumped in between us. Then we had the funeral and my aunt came and tried to take us away but Luka stopped her and took us home. Then she came and kidnapped us and took us to Colombia but Luka came and brought us back home, and here I am! I just got back," Mariana told him.  
  
"Wow!" Principal Heggerts exclaimed. There was a short pause before he said, "Okay, so here's what I'm wondering. There are plenty of rumors flying around school at the moment, and everyone is worried about you and Alexandria. You are two of the schools most beloved students; everyone loves you, staff and students. So, I was thinking maybe you and Alexandria could do a little presentation for the school on Monday and assure the students that you two are okay and doing fine. And if you could sing that would be great too! The school loves to here you sing whenever they get a chance!"  
  
Mariana smiled. "No problem. Alexandria and I will tell everyone what happened and I'll sing. Mitchell and I'll do a song."  
  
Principal Heggerts smiled. "Okay. Thanks! I'll schedule you guys in!"  
  
"No problem," she said as her principal hung up the phone. She quickly dialed Mitchell's private room number again. He answered on the second ring.  
  
"Hey Ana!" he exclaimed. "Call the principal?"  
  
"Yeah, he wanted Alexandria and I to do a little presentation thingy. So, I told him that we would and that you and I would sing. We're gonna sing Tu Robaste Mi Corazon. Well, talk to ya later, bye sweetie," she said quickly hanging up the phone, knowing that he would start to complain if she didn't.  
  
Running out to the living room she saw that Abby was putting dinner on the table. Luka and Alexandria were already sitting at the table and Mariana quickly ran up to join them.  
  
"Have a good talk with Mitchell?" Alexandria asked.  
  
Mariana nodded her head, "Yeah. I also called our principal. He told Mitch to tell me to call him. He wants us to do a little presentation about why we were gone on Monday. Apparently one of the rumors is that we were sold for drug money. So, I told him that we would."  
  
"You singing?" Alexandria asked.  
  
"Yeah, I told him that Mitchell and I would sing. We'll sing Tu Robaste Mi Corazon."  
  
"Does Mitchell know you two are singing?" Alexandria asked her, smiling.  
  
"I told him," Mariana said.  
  
"And you hung up right away too I'll bet," Alexandria replied.  
  
"So?" Mariana asked.  
  
Alexandria burst out laughing, "That was mean Ana!"  
  
"I know…" Mariana said smiling.  
  
Luka smiled, watching the girls as they usually acted for the first time.  
  
  
  
Alexandria stepped up to the microphone as the students sitting in the auditorium cheered. "Hi everyone! I've been asked to explain to you all what happened to Ana and me. I'll start at the beginning. As you all must know now, our father was abusive towards Mariana. Why he chose Mariana, I don't know. But Mariana was the one who knew more than anyone else, how much my father loved both of us.  
  
"Well, sometime last week, I'm not exactly sure when, I came home from the store and found Mariana lying in our kitchen. She had been stabbed, by him. I called an ambulance and she was rushed to County General hospital where this really great doctor and nurse worked on her and saved her life. She was moved up to ICU, she had to have some surgery to repair her diaphragm, now she's ready to sing for you all later today! She was on a respirator for awhile, but she was released ahead of time.  
  
"The day she had been stabbed some police and social service workers met with us and were going to move us into a foster home. Dr. Kovac, the doctor who saved Ana, didn't want us to go to a foster home; he wanted us to be adopted. He got the police and social services to give me some custody release forms. I found my dad, and he signed them. They were searching for an adoptive family, and then they came to us and said that they found someone who wanted to adopt us. Dr. Kovac – Luka – is the one who adopted us.  
  
"After Mariana got home from the hospital, she decided that she wanted to go say goodbye and thank you to our father. She found him in one of his favorite bars and they were saying goodbye when some big bar dude came in and was about to shoot Mariana. But our father stepped between Ana and the bullet. He was killed.  
  
"We had the funeral and at the funeral Ana left the service early. I followed her and this lady followed us. This lady was our Aunt Koryn. She tried to take us away, but Luka wouldn't let her. He took us back to our new home, but later that night she came and kidnapped us. She flew us to Venezuela and then drove us to Colombia.  
  
"When we were in Colombia, she had us working as nurse's aides in her hospital. Luka found out she took us to Colombia and came there to find us. When he found us he brought us back here. We just got back on Friday.  
  
"So, as you can see, some of the things that are going around school are true. But others are not. If you have any more questions, please come speak to Ana or I. We are the only ones who know what really happened.  
  
"And now, Mariana is going to sing Tu Robaste Mi Corazon, a Selena song, with Mitchell!"  
  
The student audience clapped again as Mariana and Mitchell came on. Mitchell was wearing black pants and a white, large shirt. Mariana was wearing black pants, and a white shirt. The sleeves were rolled up to her elbows, and the bottom was tied at her waist. She had dark red lipstick on, and black eye shadow lightly covering her eye lids. They smiled as they came on and grabbed two microphones. They had decided to sing the whole song together, not split the parts up. They began to sing…  
  
  
  
"Como he llegado a caer aqui contigo,  
  
Entre tus brazos de sed, amor  
  
Que bonito es encontrarse al fin  
  
Despues de tanto tiempo solo  
  
"Como es que todo se ve mejor contigo  
  
Como es que nada parece igual  
  
No puede ser amor lo que siento en mi  
  
Es mucho mas de lo que imaginaba  
  
"En un momento el Corazon perdi  
  
Sin darme cuenta todo te lo di  
  
Y en mi pecho siento nueva vida  
  
Donde mi Corazon dormia  
  
  
  
"Tu, tu Robaste mi Corazon que puedo hacer  
  
Me siento presa de ti  
  
Y no me Quiero escaper de tu vida  
  
Tu, tu llegaste a mi Corazon  
  
Con tu querer  
  
Con tu alma y tu ser  
  
No te Quiero perder  
  
Nunca, nunca  
  
"En un momento has cambiado todo amigo  
  
Lo que esparada al fin llego  
  
Lo que en nadie mas pude encontrar  
  
Sin esperar cai en mis manos  
  
Como es que todo se ve mejor contigo  
  
Como es que nada parece igual  
  
No puede ser amor lo que siento en mi  
  
Es mucho mas de lo que imaginaba  
  
"En un momento el Corazon perdi  
  
Sin darme cuenta todo te lo di  
  
Y en mi pecho siento nueva vida  
  
Donde mi Corazon dormia  
  
"Tu, tu Robaste mi Corazon que puedo hacer  
  
Me siento presa de ti  
  
Y no me Quiero escaper de tu vida  
  
Tu, tu llegaste a mi Corazon  
  
Con tu querer  
  
Con tu alma y tu ser  
  
No te Quiero perder  
  
Nunca, nunca"  
  
  
  
Mariana and Mitchell both put their microphones back in the microphone stands and bowed. Then Mitchell pulled Mariana in his arms and kissed her on the lips before pulling her offstage.  
  
  
  
It was a slow day in the ER. Luka stepped into the lounge. Opening up his locker he pulled out a letter that he had had Alexandria write the day before, telling him a little about the girls. It seemed awkward though, reading about who his daughters were in a letter.  
  
Luka ~  
  
Okay, you wanted this letter about us, so, here it is:  
  
Me: I am an artist. I love to draw and paint and do all those types of things. I'd be happy spending a day doing some sort of artwork. At school I paint murals on the walls and stuff. I do sets for plays and musicals. I also love caring for things, especially animals! I love animals more than I love art! I hope to be a vet one day.  
  
Mariana: She's a performer. She sings, dances, acts and plays the flute, percussion and some piano. She's always doing one of the lead rolls in school plays and musicals. She's the choir director's favorite, and she does a lot of singing at school events too. Sometimes she gets Mitchell to sing with her, like he's doing today. She's not exactly sure what she's gonna do in life yet, but one thing is for sure, she's gonna have fun!  
  
I don't know what you were thinking when you adopted us. We're gonna be a handful, I can guarantee it. But, I also know that we love you for it. Thanks!  
  
~Alexandria  
  
He smiled. Sometimes he wondered what had possessed him to adopt two teenage twin girls. But things had been going pretty well so far. Other than the bar shooting and chasing them halfway around the world of course!  
  
He folded the letter back on and placed it on the top shelf of his locker. Walking out he saw Alexandria and Mariana walking in, smiling and laughing as they talked. Abby was behind the admit desk, talking to Jing-mei, Carter, and Randi. Abby looked up as they walked in and smiled.  
  
"Hi Alexandria, Mariana! How was school today?" Abby asked them.  
  
"Pretty good," Alexandria answered as they set their bags down by the side of the desk.  
  
Luka came over and stopped before them. Mariana walked over to him and gave him a hug before walking behind the desk and looking at the radio. Looking around she said, "Can we play the radio?"  
  
Abby nodded, "Yeah, we can now. We don't have any patients in today, very unusual."  
  
Ana smiled and flipped the switch. "AM!" she shouted in disgust. "How can you guys listen to this crap?"  
  
She quickly switched the radio from AM to FM and then tuned it to a Latin station. The song that was playing was just ending. Another song started up right away and Mariana smiled.  
  
"Tequila!" Ana shouted and started dancing around. Alexandria started dancing around as well. Slowly, Abby and Luka joined, then Randi. Then Carter and Jing-mei.  
  
In the middle of the song Romano came down and the ER staff quickly went off to different spots, trying to breathe normally so that he wouldn't see that they had been dancing also.  
  
When Alexandria saw this she danced up to Carter, and started dancing with him. Romano stood in front of the desk watching them as Carter hesitantly started dancing with Alexandria. Mariana danced around the counter and grabbed Romano, dancing with him.  
  
The staff held their breath, wondering what he'd to her. They were all surprised, however, when he began dancing along with her. Luka and Abby started dancing, and Jing-mei and Randi decided to dance together.  
  
It was quite a sight to see! The ER staff that was on duty dancing around the admit desk area, with Romano and Carter in the middle of the group, dancing with teenage girls to an upbeat Latin song.  
  
  
  
Mariana groaned as she tried focusing in on the cells in the microscope. When she finally got it focused she looked back at the drawing on the lab. Why she had been glad to finally get back in school she didn't know.  
  
She tried to find the cell they were supposed to draw, but couldn't. "Al, can you find it?"  
  
Alexandria pulled the microscope closer to her and searched for the cell, but couldn't find it either. "Nope!"  
  
They looked around to find their medical biology teacher so that they could get him to help. There was a knock on the door and everyone watched as their teacher answered it. He talked quickly with the person outside and then the man came in.  
  
Luka walked towards the girls table. Alexandria smiled, "Hey, Luka! Can you find this cell for us?"  
  
He looked at the lab sheet and then into the microscope. He moved the slide around and then pulled back. "The pointer is on it."  
  
Mariana looked in and smiled, "Thanks!"  
  
"No problem," he said leaning against the lab table. "Hey, how would you girls like to go to Croatia tomorrow?"  
  
They looked at him in shock. "You'd take us to Croatia?"  
  
"Yeah! I think we need to go someplace so that we can start to be more like a family. And after all we've been through I think you two deserve a vacation."  
  
Mariana smiled, "I'd love to go to Croatia!"  
  
Alexandria nodded. "Yeah, me too!"  
  
"Great! Come on, I'll take you two home now and we start getting ready to go," Luka said smiling.  
  
The girls smiled and, in unison, they ran up to him and threw their arms around him. "I love you, Luka!"  
  
  
  
Coming Soon: Scrabble Babble ~ While in Croatia, something happens to one of the twins. And the Kovac household will never be the same again. 


	12. Scrabble Babble

Scrabble Babble  
  
  
  
Mariana and Alexandria stood back and watched as Luka gave his mother a hug. He stepped back and his mother hurriedly began speaking in Luka's native tongue. She stopped when she noticed the girls watching. Stepping forward she hugged Mariana and then moved over to hug Alexandria.  
  
She looked back to Luka and said something. He smiled and pointed at Alexandria saying, "Alexandria," then pointing at Mariana he said, "Mariana."  
  
She looked back to Luka and said something. He replied in Croatian and then repeated what he said in English. "Yes, mom; your grandchildren."  
  
He walked over and stood by the twins saying, "Girls this is my mother. Your new grandma. She knows a little English, but not a lot."  
  
When he stopped talking his mother motioned to them and said something to Luka before walking forward.  
  
"What did she say?" Alexandria asked Luka.  
  
"She said come. Let's get home and get some food for you and the beautiful twins," Luka smiled at Alexandria.  
  
  
  
Luka's mom was at the stove, making some soup for lunch. "There's a beach just a block away you two can go to. Or you can spend time here. Apparently my cousin will be coming. He knows English. We can play games or something later tonight. Apparently Alexei is bringing a game over."  
  
Mariana looked up from the book she had started reading on the plane. "Okay."  
  
"What book are you reading Ana?" Luka asked.  
  
"Oh, just a book," she said as she looked back at it.  
  
Luka chuckled as his mother came over, bringing two bowls of soup with spoons in them. She set a bowl down in front of both of the twins and went back to bring two more bowls over. She put them on the table and grabbed four glasses and a pitcher of water.  
  
Mariana and Alexandria ate silently, watching Luka and his mother as they chatted while they ate, catching up on old times. Mariana leaned over to Alexandria and whispered, "Wanna go to the beach after lunch?"  
  
Alexandria smiled, "Yeah!"  
  
When they finished they hesitantly interrupted Luka and asked if they could go to the beach. He smiled, telling them to have a good time."  
  
  
  
They were walking down to the beach. Ana in her baby blue bathing suit, a baby blue shirt over her top, and a yellow parasol tied around her waist. She was carrying a towel, a bottle of water and some sun screen. She stopped suddenly to remove a rock from her black sandals before running to catch up with Alexandria.  
  
Alexandria was wearing a blue bathing suit beneath her shirt and shorts. Opening her bottle of water she took a quick drink before closing it back up.  
  
Mariana pushed her sunglasses down on her nose a little and peered over the rim. "Is that the place?" she asked pointing to a rather empty parking lot.  
  
Alexandria looked. "I think so."  
  
They walked through the parking and found behind a cluster of trees beautiful sparkling blue water. They stepped into the hot, golden sand. It spilled into their sandals and they both laughed, loving the feel of it. They missed summer!  
  
Walking down they set their towels down and sat down on them. Taking off the clothes they didn't want on they began putting sun screen on their arms, legs, back, neck and face.  
  
They both lie down, shutting their eyes, enjoying the sun as it beat down onto them. They lay like that for five minutes before a male voice greeted them in Croatian. They looked up and Mariana said, "Oh! We don't speak Croatian."  
  
The two teenage boys before them smiled and said, "You speak English?"  
  
Mariana nodded, "Yeah."  
  
"Americans?"  
  
Mariana nodded again, "Yeah."  
  
"We live in America. We're on vacation with our dad," Alexandria told them.  
  
This time they nodded, "Ah. We're studying English in school."  
  
Mariana smiled at the one who was staring intently at Alexandria. The two twins had always been equally protective of each other. "So, aren't you supposed to be in school now?"  
  
The other one smiled at her and she realized he hadn't looked away for awhile. "We have a day off."  
  
"Oh, not skipping, huh?" she asked.  
  
He smiled. "No. We don't skip."  
  
She smiled at him. "Oh, my boyfriend and I skip all the time."  
  
"Your boyfriend?" he asked, obviously disappointed.  
  
She nodded. "Yeah."  
  
"How long have you been boyfriend and girlfriend?" he asked her.  
  
Alexandria laughed. "Forever! Those two were meant to be together!"  
  
The boy looked away sheepishly, "Oh, okay."  
  
The other boy, though, continued staring at Alexandria. "Do you have a boyfriend?"  
  
Alexandria shook her head, "No."  
  
The boy smiled at her. "I'm Sergei."  
  
Alexandria smiled back. "I'm Alexandria. And this is my sister, Mariana. We're twins."  
  
"Oh," the boy said, obviously not interested in Ana. Ana stifled a laugh.  
  
"Al, I'm gonna go back. I'm hot," she said.  
  
Alexandria looked over at her. "Okay, I think I'll stay here for awhile."  
  
Mariana nodded. "See ya when you get back."  
  
Putting her shirt back on she picked up her towel, her water and the sun screen. Slipping her feet into her sandals she left leaving Alexandria alone with the two boys. Sergei's friend quickly moved on to a new girl that he spotted, making Alexandria realize just how horny he was. She hoped that Sergei wasn't like that.  
  
"So, how old are you?" he asked her.  
  
"I'm sixteen," she answered. "You?"  
  
"I'm seventeen," he said. "What did you say you were doing in Croatia again?"  
  
"My dad, well, my adoptive father, is Croatian. He felt that after all Ana and I have been through, we deserve a vacation," she answered.  
  
"And just what did you and your sister go through?" he asked her.  
  
"My sister was stabbed by our real father and then he was killed in a bar fight," Alexandria told him calmly.  
  
His eyes widened and he said, "You're okay, right?"  
  
Alexandria smiled, "Yeah! It was Ana who was stabbed."  
  
"But he didn't hurt you did he?" Sergei asked.  
  
Alexandria shook her head, "No."  
  
Sergei smiled again, "Good."  
  
  
  
Mariana was lying on the couch, reading one of the romance novels she had bought at the airport in Chicago. As she was getting to one of the juicy parts she heard someone approaching. She quickly set the book down on her stomach so that whoever was approaching couldn't see what she was reading. But, when she saw it was Luka's mother she just smiled and brought the book back up as she passed the couch, glancing at the words in the book.  
  
  
  
Alexandria laughed as Sergei splashed her with water. They were running through the lake, splashing each other.  
  
Putting her hand in the water she pushed it towards him with all the force she could muster. A large wave hit Sergei, sending him backwards. He fell into the water as Alexandria danced around him. He reached an arm out and tripped her. She fell back, laughing hard. Sergei crawled over so that he was looking down on her beautiful face.  
  
They were in the shallow end of the lake, but the water was deep enough that every once in awhile the wind would send a ripple of water over Alexandria's. Sergei leaned forward and very slowly kissed Alexandria on her lips.  
  
She smiled and kissed him back. Sergei stood up and gently picked her up. Carrying her to a secluded part behind a patch of trees he continued kissing her. He moved his hands so that they were at the strap of her bathing suit and started to push the straps down.  
  
Alexandria pushed his hand away, "No, Sergei. I don't want to do that."  
  
"Come on Al," he whispered.  
  
"No one but my sister calls me Al," Alexandria said pulling away. "And no one but her will ever call me Al."  
  
"Sorry, Alexandria. But, please, come on!" he whispered a little more harshly.  
  
"No, Sergei," she whispered.  
  
But Sergei harshly pulled her towards him. Pushing the straps of her bathing suit down he pushed his mouth against hers so that she couldn't scream.  
  
  
  
Mariana was lying on the couch, still reading, when she suddenly sat up. Luka, who was sitting in a chair only a few feet away looked up and said, "What's wrong Ana?"  
  
Mariana shook her head, "I-I-I don't know," she looked at her watch. "But if Alexandria doesn't get back soon I'm gonna go back and look for her."  
  
  
  
Alexandria blinked back tears as she walked from the patch of trees back to where her beach towel was lying. She quickly picked it up, slipping her feet into her sandals as she also got her water bottle.  
  
Walking back towards the street Sergei ran up to her. "Alexandria, I'm sorry."  
  
"Back off bastard!" she yelled as she turned around.  
  
"Bastard?" he questioned.  
  
"Yeah. It's a term people use for men when they hate them," she said before turning around and calling over her shoulder, "So like I said, back off bastard!"  
  
  
  
When Mariana heard the door open she quickly looked up. "Al, you all right?"  
  
Alexandria pasted a fake smile on her face, "Of course I am."  
  
Luka, looking satisfied that she was safe, looked back down at his newspaper. Alexandria had gotten pretty good at lying, spending as much time as she had helping her sister explain to teachers about her "clumsiness."  
  
But one person always saw through her lies: Mariana.  
  
And Mariana followed her back to the room the two were sharing. "You sure you're all right Al? What happened?"  
  
Alexandria looked up and smiled, "Nothing, Mariana. He just wasn't as great of a guy as I thought he was."  
  
  
  
From his distance Sergei watched as Alexandria walked into Mrs. Kovac's house. So, Luka moved to America after his wife and children died, and now he adopted new children. Does that mean he has a new wife too? Is Luka forgetting about my cousin?  
  
  
  
Alexei came over that night after supper. He brought the game Scrabble with him. "I got it from a friend who visited America," he told Luka.  
  
Luka looked over to the girls, "Want to play a game of Scrabble with my mom and Alexei and I?"  
  
Mariana shook her head, "No, I suck at Scrabble."  
  
Alexandria nodded. "Yeah, me too."  
  
Alexei smiled at the twins, "You two can be on a team."  
  
Mariana sighed, "All right."  
  
Slowly Mariana and Alexandria walked over to the table and sat down. They started playing an English/Croatian scrabble game. Mariana and Alexandria fell behind quickly.  
  
In the middle of the game Luka's mother looked stumped staring hard at the tiles in front of her. Then she looked up at Mariana, smiled and grabbed two tiles placing them around an E tile on the board. The word she spelled out was sex.  
  
Mariana tried as best she could to stifle a giggle. Alexei stared at it, trying not to laugh himself. Mrs. Kovac asked Luka something and he replied in Croatian. She smiled and then said something back to him.  
  
Luka looked over to Mariana and said, "So, Ana, what book did you say you were reading again?"  
  
"Oh, just a book my friend said was good," she answered, trying to cover up the genre of her book.  
  
"Okay. I was just wondering," he said as he looked at his tiles. It was his turn to go now. "My mom said she saw it in your book." Mariana looked away, embarrassed, her face growing red as she laughed.  
  
Alexandria was thankful that no one saw her beet red face.  
  
  
  
A few days later Alexandria and Mariana were in their room unpacking. Mariana put the camera on the desk and said, "I can't wait to develop these pictures! That trip was so much fun! Grandma and Alexei are great!"  
  
"Yeah they are," Alexandria tried to say with as much enthusiasm as Mariana.  
  
Mariana stopped unpacking to look at Alexandria. "Are you sure you're okay? Did you have fun in Croatia?"  
  
Alexandria nodded. "Yeah, I did. Except for one part of the trip."  
  
She tried to keep unpacking but Mariana walked over and stopped her. Grabbing her arms she made her sister stare into her eyes. "Al, what happened on the beach?"  
  
Alexandria unsuccessfully tried to keep the tears from flowing down her face.  
  
"Sergei raped me."  
  
  
  
Coming Soon: Trouble Maker…How does Mariana react to Alexandria's news? And who else does Alexandria tell? 


	13. Dark Chicago

**_A/N: __We changed the name of this chapter from Trouble Maker to Dark Chicago because an event that was planned for this chapter didn't get put in because we liked it the way it ended._**

****

**Dark ****Chicago******

****

****

Mariana stared at Alexandria before saying, "S-Sergei r-raped you?"

Alexandria wiped the tears away from her face. "Yeah."

"Where's that bastard?" Mariana shouted pacing around the room. "W-wait! We're here now. Why didn't you tell me in Croatia? Why did you wait till there was an ocean separating us?"

Alexandria looked away. "I-I don't know. I guess…I guess I don't want you to kill him."

"Why!?" Mariana yelled.

"I-I don't know." 

"You're a nice person, Al," Mariana said hugging her. "And someday I'm gonna kill that bastard for doing this to you."

Abby was sitting by Luka's suitcase on the bed while Luka unpacked. He stopped folding clothes and looked at her. Smiling he pushed the suitcase off the bed and sat down by her, taking her face in his hands and kissing her deeply. 

"I love you, Abby," he whispered. "I love you more than anyone else."

Abby smiled back at him. "I love you too, Luka."

For the first time since the twins had entered their eyes, Luka and Abby were able to spend time together in peace.

Mrs. Evan's answered the door soon after Mariana rang the bell. She smiled widely at her son's girlfriend. "Mariana! How are you doing, sweetie? I've been so worried about you, and your sister."

Mariana smiled at Mrs. Evans. "I'm fine, I guess. Is Mitchell home?"

Mrs. Evans nodded her head. "Yeah, he's in his room. Go right on up."

"Thanks," Mariana said as she walked past Mrs. Evans into the house. 

She ran up the grand staircase in the middle of the floor in front of her. Mitchell and his family had money, a lot of money. She ran into his father when she got to the top. 

"Mariana!" he exclaimed. "It's great to see you."

"It's nice to see you too Mr. Evans," she smiled at him as she passed.

"You doing okay?" he asked her.

Mariana nodded, turning around and smiling again. "I'm fine."

"That's good," he said as he began walking down the stairs. Mariana turned back around and found the door that opened up to reveal a staircase, leading her to the attic where Mitchell's room was. Knocking on the door she leaned against the wall as she waited for him to answer. 

He opened the door and smiled. "Hey baby," he greeted her as he wrapped his arms around her, pulling her tightly to him in a hug.

"Hi Mitchell," she whispered, her voice breaking.

He pulled back slightly and eyed her worriedly. "You all right?"

"I'm, I'm…" her voice broke off as she tried to reassure him that she was fine. She was tired of lying to everyone!

"What's wrong, Ana?" he asked, pulling her into his room. Shutting the door behind them he led her to his bed and sat her down on it. He sat down next to her, turning to face her. "You can tell me."

"W-when we were in Croatia, Al met this guy and…" she looked towards the window. The sun had once been shining in the spring April weather, but now clouds were beginning to cover. "…And he, he raped her."

Mitchell closed his eyes, digesting the news. He cared for his girlfriend's sister tremendously; he loved her like a sister, something he hoped she would be to him one day. Hearing this news cut him to the core. "When?"

"The first day we were there," she answered.

"When did you find out?" 

"Today."

He looked out the window, where clouds were accumulating faster and faster, blocking out all the suns rays. 

"Is there anything I can do?" he asked, whispering.

"Go with me back to Croatia so I can kill him," Mariana said closing her eyes against the tears building up before opening them again. Tears fell down her cheeks like a damn bursting.

Mitchell rubbed his thumbs across her tears, trying to remove them from her face. "It's going to be okay, sweetie."

Mariana shook her head. "No, no it's not going to be okay!"

Mitchell stared at her intently. "What's wrong baby? I mean…what else is wrong?"

Mariana shook her head. "I don't know! But, but first I'm stabbed and then we're adopted and its like, everything's going to be okay again! But then dad dies and we're kidnapped and taken to Colombia. But Luka came to get us and he brought us back and we continued our lives like normal. And then he suggested that we get away from Chicago and the hell we live in and have a fun vacation. But then this bastard has to rape Alexandria! 

"We need a break! We're only sixteen-year old girls!" Mariana yelled. "I can't handle this anymore. And you know…you know…"

Luka stared at the sky. The sun had just a moment ago been shining brightly, and now it wasn't. Now clouds were beginning to take over the sky. And he couldn't get rid of this feeling that something was wrong. That something was wrong with the twins.

He shook his head, dropping his cigarette down to the ground and stepping on it.

"I didn't know you smoke," he heard a voice behind him. He turned around to see Carter standing behind him.

"I don't," he said looking at the pack and the lighter in his hand. "It's just, something doesn't feel right at home and I know people smoke to relieve tension so I thought I'd give it a try. But you know," he threw the pack into the garbage can at the entrance of the ER. "These things suck!"

Carter grinned, "I couldn't agree with you more."

Luka stared at the man before him, noticing that he was leaving. "You heading out for the day?"

Carter nodded, "Yep. Anything you need me to do for you at all? Besides taking your shift for you."

Luka smiled, "Yeah, would you mind stopping by the apartment and checking on the girls for me. Just to make sure everything's okay with them."

Carter nodded, "No problem Luka."

"My address is…wait! You know where my apartment! From that time you broke in with Abby and the fish tank…"Luka said making Carter laugh self-consciously. 

"Yeah, I know where you live," Carter said.

Luka smiled at him again, "Thanks for going for me."

Carter smiled back at him, "No problem. I admire you for the way you've taken the girls in, made them your daughters. It takes a strong person to take in two teenage girls who've had a rough upbringing."

Luka smiled, "Thanks."

Carter nodded, "I wish you luck. With the girls…and with Abby."

Luka's smile widened, "Wow. Thanks again Carter."

"No problem," he said walking to his car.

Sobs shook her small body as she lay curled up on the couch. Her mind was a hurricane of thoughts, as the possible outcomes of the rape whirled through her mind. But the biggest, scariest thought was beginning to become more and more real.

What would happen if she became pregnant? She knew that he had gone all the way with her. Through all the pain while he had taken advantage of her, she had felt him when he had released his seed into her. He had not worn a condom, and she had had no protection at all. Was it possible that at the very moment she was lying here, crying over her loss of innocence, her loss of virginity that a new life was forming within her?

There was a knock at the door and Alexandria looked up. She grabbed a Kleenex and blew her nose, wiping the tears from her face before dropping the used tissue into the large pile that was lying beside the couch. 

Getting off the couch she stumbled towards the door in her large sweat pants and sweat shirt. Peering through the peep hole she saw the doctor, Carter, that she had danced with when life was hard, but before it became unbearable. 

****

Slowly she opened the door. His smile immediately disappeared from his face when he saw her. "Alexandria! What's wrong?"

_Do I let him come in? He seems like a nice enough guy, but then again, Sergei seemed nice enough too. Will Carter hurt me, like Sergei did? Some guys like to take advantage of girls when they're in a state like mine. But, will Carter? I can trust him right? Of course I trusted Sergei. Ahhh! I'm going to go insane!_

"Alexandria?" Carter asked his heartbeat quickening. _What's wrong? Oh, God! What's wrong with Mariana?_

"Come in," Alexandria said stepping out of his way so that he could enter the apartment.

Luka walked back to the Lounge to put his jacket away and get his stethoscope out. Jing-mei smiled over her coffee mug when he walked up. He opened the locker and took the stethoscope out, his hands shaking.

"Luka, are you all right?" Jing-mei eyed him cautiously.

"I'm fine," Luka sighed.

"You sure? You're shaking like crazy!" she stated the obvious.

"I'm fine," he said again, not quite believing it himself.

"Maybe you should get some sugar into your system," Jing-mei suggested. 

Luka placed his stethoscope around his neck and grabbed some money from the top shelf. He nodded, "Yeah."

Walking out to the vending machines, he ignored his co-workers as they all called out to him. But one of them followed. 

He put his money into the slot and then surveyed the contents of the machine. He pressed the buttons that would deliver the candy with the most sugar. He leaned his forehead against the machine, closing his eyes until he heard the clunk.

Opening them back up he pulled away from the machine and reached back down to pull the candy out. Opening the box of the sour candy he poured half the box into his mouth, chewing and swallowing quickly he finished the box, crushing it in his hands as tears came to his eyes, the sourness getting to his taste buds. He opened them up and saw Abby watching him.

"Come here sweetie," she opened her arms. He walked into them and she held him until his shaking subsided and he rested peacefully in her arms for the moment.

"What's wrong? Is it Mariana?" Carter asked the minute he heard the door slam. He searched the living room for Alexandria's sister, but couldn't find her. He turned around and saw Alexandria shaking her head. 

Carter grabbed her arm and led her to the couch, seeing a large pile of tissues on the floor. Sitting her down on the couch he sat on the coffee table directly in front of her. "What's wrong?"

Alexandria stared at him and she felt a little peace come over her, a little, but not much. She'd always wanted an uncle who loved and cared for her, and now she realized that she had one.

"I was raped."

"What?" Carter asked his eyes widening in rage. "Who, where?"

"In Croatia, this kid I met on the beach," Alexandria said, tears pouring from her eyes. "He was nice, and then he…he…"

Carter pulled her closer to him in a hug, "It's okay Alexandria. It's going to be okay."

"Are you sure?" she asked him.

He pulled away from her and stared at her. "I promise you, that no matter what happens; I will always be here for you. If you ever have a problem you can talk to me, and I will help you out. I promise you that."

Alexandria wiped the tears from her eyes and whispered, "Thank you," before the tears began pouring down her cheeks again. 

Carter moved so that he was sitting by her on the couch. He hugged her and rocked her as the tears fell down her cheeks, soaking the shoulder of his shirt. But still, Alexandria felt her heart breaking inside her.

Mitchell closed his eyes as he ingested the pain he heard in her voice. His heart broke as he heard the pain building in her voice as she talked about the hell she and her sister had endured the past few weeks. And her pained shout echoed in his mind, _"And you know…you know…"_

He opened his eyes and saw that silent sobs shook her body. He didn't want to ask, didn't want to hear the voice that proved how much she was hurting, but he had to know.

"What Ana?" he choked out.

"You know," she whispered shakily. "I don't think things are going to get better. Things are only going to get worse."

Her whispered prediction echoed eerily around his room. And as she uttered the last words staring strangely at a picture of the two hugging each other and smiling, a clap of thunder echoed outside, shaking the windows of his room. Following was the patter of rain and hail as it hit the roof and the ground around his house, as it hit all of Chicago. Lightning flashed, and a daytime darkness descended on the city.

**_Coming Soon: __Twin Trouble…Alexandria starts to realize just how much her life is going to be affected by the rape, and Mariana finds something besides her sister and her boyfriend to drown her sorrows away in._**

****


	14. Twin Trouble

**_A/N: __The song is "The Right Kind of Wrong" by LeAnn Rimes._**

****

**Twin Trouble**

****

The timer beeped, announcing that the results were in. Getting off her perch on the side of the bathtub she slowly walked to the counter, her heart pounding violently in her chest. Closing her eyes she took a deep breath. Picking up the white stick, she opened her eyes and looked at it. 

The result was like a blow to her heart. The dreaded answer didn't get any easier to see. Three sticks, three tests, the same results. Tears flowed down her face and she fell onto her knees. Pressing her forehead to the floor she cried, happy no one else was home.

The clouds hung heavily in the sky. They hadn't lifted since they had accumulated there three weeks ago. Rain poured down from the sky everyday, and the wind whipped strongly, even though for the windy city. Through it all the twins went to school and tried to get on with their lives as normal. Now, as Luka sat on the bed in the empty exam room, he stared at the dark, dismal sky and pondered the twin's behavior once more. It seemed all he was able to do aside from treating patients. 

He heard the door open behind him, and then softly close. The person softly walked up behind him, sitting behind him on the bed. Abby slowly wrapped her arms around him and rested her head on his shoulder still looking at him.

"What's wrong?" she softly asked him.

Luka sighed, "I'm just thinking."

"About what?"

"The twins," he answered.

"What about the twins?" she asked.

"I feel like something is wrong with them," Luka replied. 

"They have just been through a lot Luka," she reminded him quickly adding, "They've been through hell."

"It's more than that," Luka replied. "I feel like something else is wrong. Something that they're not telling me."

"Like what?" Abby inquired.

"I don't know," Luka sighed. But it's not going to get any better. It's only going to get worse."

Mariana sighed as Anita Wilson kept talking about the stabbing and the kidnapping. And she kept asking questions like, "Did it hurt when the knife entered your body?" "Was it scary being kidnapped?" "Why do you have those two faint scars on your face?" And she had asked that last question after Mariana had told her the circumstances of the kidnapping.

Mariana looked at her watch, "Mrs. Wilson, I'm sorry for interrupting, but I'm going to be late," she lied.

"Okay, dear! Yes of course dear!" Anita said not moving from her spot. "You go right ahead, dear!"

Mariana smiled and moved past her, bringing her keys out of her purse. She opened the car door and got inside, slamming it shut. She had gone back to the apartment with her sister one time before to collect their things. But at that time they hadn't gotten the car. Now Mariana drove away from the apartment building, and Anita Wilson along with her other wacky neighbors, without looking back.

Alexandria was lying on the couch staring at the ceiling, rubbing her stomach. She couldn't believe what was happening to her. When life was supposed to get better, it was throwing her another curveball. And she was not happy!

The door opened and Mariana walked in, "I got the car Alexandria!"

Alexandria propped herself up on her arms and smiled at her sister for a moment. "Okay. You going anywhere?"

"Not planning on it," Mariana replied. Seeing the disappointed look on her sister's face she inquired, "Why?"

Alexandria sighed. "I just wanted to be alone."

Mariana nodded, "I can go to Mitchell's for awhile."

Alexandria smiled, "Thanks Ana."

Mariana returned her sisters smile saying, "No problem. You okay?"

"I'm fine," Alexandria said. Knowing her twin would see through the lie she added, "As fine as I can be considering the circumstances."

Mariana nodded, satisfied with the answer. Saying goodbye she left the room.

Alexandria sighed. She hadn't exactly lied to her sister; she just hadn't told her the whole truth. Ana still didn't know the news that Alexandria was keeping to herself.

Maybe it was because she had just found out that morning. But she had just passed up the perfect opportunity to tell her sister. They had never kept secrets from each other before.

But it was different this time. Because Alexandria still had to process the information. She still had to believe it. She still had some decisions to make, decisions that for the first time in her life she had to make alone. And she knew that if she told Ana right now her sister would try to force an answer to the main question running through Alexandria's head right now, without even realizing it. And the question was the biggest decision she would make in her teenage life.

Not knowing if Mitchell's family was home right now, and not sure if she wanted to see them, Ana went around to the side of his house and climbed up the tree. She looked into his room, he wasn't in it. She leaned over, pushed open the window, and then climbed off the tree, through the window and into his large room.

She shut the window again and walked over to his computer, turning it on. She didn't feel like playing a game or surfing the net so she left the computer and walked past the half-wall, lying down on his bed.

A moment later the door to his room opened and he walked in. He smiled at her as he shut the door and said, "Hey, Ana. You okay?"

She smiled back, "Yeah. I'm fine. Alexandria wanted to be alone."

Mitchell walked over to the bed, lying down beside Ana. They both rolled over on their sides so that they were facing each other. He stroked her cheek with his hand and asked, "How's she doing?"

Mariana sighed. "I don't know. She's not telling me something."

"Wow," Mitchell exclaimed quietly. "Alexandria isn't telling you something. That's a first."

Mariana nodded, and then sighed again.

"What's wrong?" Mitchell asked her.

"I want a drink," she whispered. There was something Alexandria didn't know about Mariana as well. Only Mitchell knew.

"No one's home. Wanna go get one?" he asked her.

She nodded and they both got off the bed, running down the stairs. They quickly walked to the stairs leading to the basement. Opening up the refrigerator behind the bar as Mariana sat in front of it he pulled out two bottles of beer, letting the door close behind him.

He slid one across the bar counter to Mariana. Picking up the bottle opener he leaned across the counter and popped the lid of Mariana's and then moved to his.

At the same time they lifted up the bottles and took a swig of the bitter liquid. It burned at her throat, but also brought relief.

"Feeling better?" he asked her, smiling.

She smiled back, "Much. Thanks sweetie." 

Alexandria blinked back tears and quickly stood up off the couch. She swayed slightly, head rush. Looking at the clock on the stove she realized that she had been lying on the couch, thinking about her condition all day. Mariana and Luka would both be getting back home soon. She walked over to the window overlooking a busy street and sidewalk, looking down.

There were many cars going in each direction. And on the sidewalk, walking out in the drizzling rain was a mother pushing a twin stroller. The woman, though she was getting wet, was happy. The way in which she walked told Alexandria that. The woman got into an apartment a few buildings down and Alexandria realized at that point what she had to do.

Looking at the clock again, she decided to walk, in the rain, to Mitchell's. She had to talk to Mariana.

_"I know all about,_

_Yeah about your reputation_

_And now it's bound to be a heartbreak situation_

_But I can't help it if I'm helpless_

_Every time that I'm with you, ah"_

Mariana was standing on the bar counter dancing around and singing to the CD playing that was blasting through the sound system. There were four empty beer bottles on the counter, two from each of them. Mitchell was dancing in place watching her, holding another bottle. She was using her half-full bottle as a microphone.

_"You walk in and my strength walks out the door_

_Say my name and I can't fight it any more_

_Oh I know I should go_

_But I need your touch just too damn much_

_Lovin' you, that isn't really something I should do_

_I shouldn't wanna spend my time with you, ya_

_Well I should try to be strong_

_But baby you're the right kind of wrong_

_Yeah, baby you're the right kind of wrong."_

Mariana looked at Mitchell as she started singing some more of the song.

_"It might be a mistake_

_A mistake I'm makin'_

_But what you're givin' I am happy to be takin'_

_Cause all that will make me feel_

_The way I feel when I'm in your arms."_

Sitting down on the bar counter she reached out with her free hand and pulled Mitchell closer as she continued singing.

_"They say you're somethin' I should do without_

_They don't know what goes on_

_When the lights go on_

_There's no way to explain_

_All the pleasure is worth all the pain_

_Loving you, that isn't really something I should do yeah, hey_

_I shouldn't wanna spend my time with you, yeah_

_Well I should try to be strong_

_But baby you're the right kind of wrong_

_Yeah, baby you're the right kind of wrong."_

She stood back up and held his hand, jerking it every once in awhile trying to get him come up too. 

_"I should try to run but I just can't seem to_

_Cause every time I run you're the one I run to_

_Can't do without what you do to me,_

_I don't care if I'm in too deep, yeah…"_

Mitchell came up on top of the counter and danced with Mariana while she finished singing the song.

"I know all about,

Yeah about your reputation

And now it's bound to be a heartbreak situation

But I can't help it if I'm helpless

Every time that I'm with you, ah

"You walk in and my strength walks out the door

Say my name and I can't fight it anymore

_Oh I know, I should go_

_But I need your touch just too damn much_

_Hey…Yeah…_

_Loving you, yeah, isn't really something I should do_

_I shouldn't wanna spend my time with you, yeah_

_Well is try to be strong_

_But baby you're the right kind of wrong_

_Baby you're the right kind of wrong_

_Baby you're the right kind of wrong_

_"Yeah, baby you're the right kind of wrong."_

They both sat down on the counter laughing as they took another swig of the beer. Just then they heard the door upstairs open. 

"Oh, shit!" Mitchell exclaimed quietly, as Mariana and Mitchell both looked towards the door in alarm. 

They both jumped off the bar counter. Mitchell took Mariana's beer and hid them under some towels, quickly grabbing the empty beer bottles and moving them to a bag to hide until later when he could move them to his room without anyone seeing them. Mariana quickly ran over to the stereo and turned the music down and then ran to a couch sitting down where Mitchell soon joined her. 

They finished right in time as Mitchell's mom poked her head through the door. Seeing Mariana wrapped up in Mitchell's arms on the couch made her smile. "I'm home, Mitch. Hi, Ana!"

"Hi, Mrs. Evans," Ana replied.

She closed the door behind her and Mitchell and Ana kept sitting for awhile until they knew that no one else was coming downstairs. Then they both quickly jumped off the couch and ran behind the bar where Mitchell had hid their beer. Kneeling down by it they both quickly grabbed their bottle and drank the rest of it in one gulp. 

When they pulled the bottles away from their faces they smiled and quickly leaned in to kiss each other. Then the door opened and they quickly put the bottles back. Mariana jumped back up on the bar counter, and Mitchell stood in front of her, holding her waist as she wrapped her legs around his stomach, making it look like they were just standing and sitting there, talking the way boyfriend and girlfriends do sometimes. They looked up and saw Alexandria coming down the stairs.

She smiled at them wearily as she walked down the stairs. Mariana quickly swung around the bar and jumped down on the other side, Mitchell walking around. He smiled at Alexandria as well.

"Hey, Al, what's up?" Mariana asked.

Alexandria licked her lips and said, "We need to talk. Alone. Sorry Mitchell."

Mitchell shook his head, "Don't worry about it! I understand, twin thing. I know that I have to share my girlfriend sometimes."

Mitchell and Mariana both started laughing. Alexandria eyed them warily, wondering why they were acting strangely. Luckily for Mariana and Mitchell, she couldn't smell the faint smell of alcohol on their breath. 

"Okay. I have the car. Why don't we just go out for a drive?" Mariana suggested.

Alexandria nodded, "Sounds good."

Mariana looked over at Mitchell and smiled, "I'll see you tomorrow, sweetie."

"Yeah. See you then, baby," he replied and then smiled at Alexandria. "See you tomorrow Alex!"

Alexandria looked at him strangely as he followed them up the stairs. She noticed that as they both passed the counter they grabbed some mints from the jar. Mariana popped one in her mouth and saw Alexandria staring at her. "Oh! Would you like one?"

Alexandria shook here head, "No thanks."

Mariana nodded, "Kay."

Mr. Evan's walked into the kitchen. Mariana smiled at him, "Bye, Mr. Evans."

"Bye Mariana. Bye Alexandria."

Alexandria said goodbye and they ran out to their car. Getting in Mariana started the engine and drove away from the curb. When they got on the highway, Mariana quickly glanced over at Alexandria, "What did you want to talk about?"

"Are you and Mitchell okay?" Alexandria asked, confused by their unusual behavior.

Mariana nodded her head, "Yeah, we're fine. What did you want to talk about?"

Alexandria sighed and looked away from Mariana. "I'm pregnant."

Mariana laughed slightly, "Sorry, Al, what was that? I don't think I heard you right."

A little louder Alexandria said, "I'm pregnant. Sergei got me pregnant."

Mariana's eyes widened as she looked towards Alexandria. "What?!"

But Alexandria didn't have time to respond to her sister's cry. Mariana lost control of the car and slammed into a light post on the side of the street.

**_Coming Soon: Dangerous Love – __What will happen to Mariana and __Alexandria__ after the car accident? Will they both be okay?_**


	15. Dangerous Love

**_A/N: __Song is "Where You Are" performed by Jessica Simpson and Nick Lachey._**

****

**Dangerous Love**

****

Lightning struck through the sky, lighting up the dark apartment with the surreal green glow. Luka flipped the switch and the room was flooded with light. Abby closed the door, but the sound was covered up by the patter of rain on the roof.

Luka quickly walked over to the girl's room and knocked on the door. When there was no response he opened the door and peeked in. Shutting it he looked at Abby, fear coursing through his body. "They're not here."

"Just because they're not here doesn't mean that something is wrong!" Abby exclaimed.

"You feel it too, then?" Luka asked.

"Feel what?" Abby shot back, not wanting to answer Luka's question.

"That something is wrong," Luka said.

Abby nodded as sirens could be heard in the distance. Luka and Abby both looked out the window and Abby whispered, "Those aren't for them, are they?

Jing-mei was standing behind the admit desk, talking to Randi when a call came through. Randi took it and then sent Carter and Jing-mei out to meet the screaming ambulances that were pulling up, delivering two people from a car accident.

"What happened?" Carter asked as the EMT brought the stretcher down.

"Two girls ran into a light post. They seem to be okay. This one may have broken her leg," he said as Carter ran over, looking down at the stretcher.

"Alexandria!" Carter exclaimed.

"You know her?" the EMT asked.

Carter nodded, "Yeah, I do."

"Okay," he said as they pushed Alexandria to one of the exam rooms as Jing-mei stepped up to the next ambulance.

She looked down at Mariana and smiled, as the EMT put the stretcher on the ground. There was a gash on her forehead. "She hit her on the windshield. She might also be drunk."

"Are you sure?" Jing-mei asked him.

He nodded his head. "The girl and her sister both said that she just got distracted while driving, but we could smell a little alcohol on her breath."

Jing-mei nodded as they pushed her into an empty exam room.

The EMT smiled at them as he pushed the stretcher out of the room after he and Jing-mei had moved Mariana from the stretcher to the bed. Once he was gone Jing-mei turned to Mariana and questioned, "Mariana, were you drinking tonight?"

Mariana closed her eyes in pain, "My head hurts!"

Jing-mei pulled on a pair of latex gloves as she walked over to Mariana. "Let me have a look at your forehead," she said sitting down by the bed. She repeated her question again, "Mariana, were you drinking tonight?"

Mariana sighed, "I don't remember anything that happened before the accident."

Jing-mei pulled away from Mariana and walked towards the door. Opening it up she yelled out, "Haleh, I need a suture kit!"

Walking back over she said, "We'll do some tests to see if you have a concussion. You don't remember anything at all?"

"No, well…I do remember one thing," Mariana replied.

"What do you remember?" Jing-mei asked.

"It isn't my place to tell," was Ana's response.

"Why?" Jing-mei asked.

"Because it's something that Alexandria told me," was Mariana's response.

Jing-mei nodded, "Okay. And do you remember what happened after that?"

"I looked at her."

"And then?"

"And then we crashed," Mariana said, everything coming back to her now. Everything including the drinking, but she wasn't going to tell Jing-mei that, unless she asked again.

"I'll go call Luka," Jing-mei said as she finished writing notes in the folder.

Carter sat down and opened a file. "Okay, Alexandria. What's wrong?"

_Everything, Alexandria thought. But when she opened her mouth she said, "My left leg hurts really bad."_

Carter nodded, "Was it caught between anything in the car?" he asked as he slipped some gloves onto his hands.

Alexandria shook her head, "No. The crash wasn't that bad. We just hit a lamp. Ana's head hit the windshield and it's bleeding. I hit the dashboard."

Carter nodded again, examining her leg. "Well, I'm going to send you up for x-rays to see if there's a break or a fracture."

Alexandria looked at him. "An x-ray?"

Carter nodded, "Yeah."

"Will it hurt my baby?" Alexandria asked him.

Carter shook his head, "No, we can protect your…your what?!"

Jing-mei quickly dialed Luka's home number and waited for him to pick up.

"Hello?"

"Hi Luka. This is Jing-mei," she replied.

"Hi, Jing-mei," he responded. "What are you calling for?"

"Mariana and Alexandria were in a car accident –" Jing-mei started to say.

"Oh my gosh! Are they all right? What happened?" Luka asked.

"Calm down Luka!" Jing-mei replied soothingly. "The girls are fine. The EMT thought he smelled alcohol on Ana's breath. When I asked her about it she said she couldn't remember much about what happened before the crash."

Luka sighed, "Alcohol? Let me talk to her before you do anything else about that."

Jing-mei nodded. "Okay. I'll let you go so that you can come here right away."

"Thanks," Luka said, and hung up.

"My baby," Alexandria said softly.

"Your…your…baby?" Carter asked her. "You're…you're…pregnant?"

Alexandria nodded. 

"When…when…did you find out?" he stammered.

"This morning," she whispered. "I told Ana about it before we crashed."

He nodded, "Okay. It won't hurt the baby. I'm gonna go make sure that Luka's called in."

"Don't tell him about the baby!" she shouted.

Carter nodded his head, "Yeah, I'm not planning too. That's your responsibility."

He walked out into the hall and walked to the admit desk. "You got Ana, right?" 

She nodded, "Yeah. I called Luka. He's on his way in."

Carter nodded, "Good. There's something he needs to talk Alexandria about."

Jing-mei smiled sadly, "Yeah, same with Ana."

Luka rushed into the ER. "Where's Mariana's room?" he asked Jing-mei.

"Exam 4," Jing-mei replied.

"Uh, Dr. Kovac. You really need to talk to Alexandria," Carter said.

"I'll talk to her in a minute," Luka called over his shoulder as he walked to Exam 4. 

He knocked on the door. "Come in," he heard Mariana call.

He opened the door and walked in, closing it behind him.

"Hi, Luka," she said softly.

He walked over the bed. "How're you doing?"

"Pretty good, I guess," Mariana replied.

He sighed, "Were you drinking? Don't lie to me."

Mariana closed her eyes, "Yeah. I had a couple beers."

Luka sighed, and walked out of the room.

Mariana blinked back tears. Had she pushed her new father away from her by drinking? She hadn't meant to hurt anybody. She had only meant to escape the pain that life was giving her. She hadn't meant for anybody to find out. She definitely hadn't meant to get into a car accident.

The door opened and she looked up hopefully. Abby walked in, and her heart sank. Sure, Abby was great. But Luka was her father now. And that's who she wanted to work things through with right now.

"Mariana," Abby said softly as she walked over. "Luka wants me to talk to you about the drinking."

"Why can't he talk to me?" Mariana asked.

"Because, he doesn't know what to say."

"And you do?" Mariana questioned.

Abby nodded, "Ana, I'm a recovering alcoholic."

Luka finished talking with Abby and went back to the admit desk. "Where's Alexandria?"

"Exam 2," Carter said.

"Okay," Luka said and turned away before Jing-mei called him back.

"Luka! What did Mariana say about the drinking?" Jing-mei asked.

"She didn't," he responded and went to find Alexandria.

He knocked on her door and entered when she responded. She smiled at him as he shut the door and walked up to her. Sitting by her bed he asked, "How're you doing?"

"I'm okay, I guess," Alexandria replied.

"Carter said that there's something I need to talk to you about?" Luka questioned. Alexandria nodded. "What is it?"

"I'm pregnant."

Luka blinked, stunned. "W-what?"

Alexandria sighed, "When we went to Croatia, I was raped by this guy I met. Now I'm pregnant."

Luka sighed, "Ar-are you okay?"

Alexandria blinked back tears, "I think so…"

"Are you going to…going to…keep the baby?" he asked her.

Alexandria nodded, "Yeah. I know life is going to be hard raising a baby, but, it feels like it's the right thing to do."

Luka nodded, "Then it probably is. I'll help you in whatever I can."

Alexandria smiled, "Thanks."

Luka sighed, "Wow. This is a lot to handle."

"You were an alcoholic?" Mariana asked.

"I guess I still am. I just haven't gotten drunk for awhile," Abby replied. 

"Why did you drink?" Mariana asked.

"The same reason you did, I'm sure," Abby said. "Life sucks, life is hard. Too hard to handle sometimes. And, alcohol is one way to get away from those problems."

Mariana nodded in agreement. "But, it's not a good way. My life sucked even more when I was getting drunk every night. Alcohol messes with your mind. And it messes your life up even more. You can lose relationships because of it. You can make decisions that you'll regret, that will hurt you."

"It makes me forget about what's going on now," Mariana said.

"But what about later in your life when you look back on something you did while you were drunk, and that hurts you even more?" Abby asked.

Mariana shrugged, "I'll deal with it then."

"With more alcohol?" Abby questioned, and nodded when she received more response. "Luka and I are going to tell them that you weren't drinking. Just this once though. We probably shouldn't, but we are. So, please, don't make us regret doing this."

Mariana nodded. "Okay."

Mitchell was standing at his window, watching Mariana climb up the tree. He opened it, and held out his arms to help her climb in. He had known she'd come up that way, the tone of her voice when he had called her told him that she didn't want to see many people. 

She smiled at him after she had climbed in. He stared at her forehead, "What happened?"

She laughed as she closed the window. "Got in a car accident after Al and I left your house," Mariana said before quickly adding, "She's pregnant."

"Oh," he said, sitting down in his desk chair. Then he reached out and grabbed her, pulling her onto his lap. "You both okay?"

Mariana nodded, "I had this cut, and a concussion. Alexandria fractured her leg. So, what did you want to talk about?"

"The sports director called. The boy's basketball team is playing their last game on Tuesday. If they win, they'll go to state. So he was thinking that maybe you and I would sing a song during half-time. Cheer them on."

Mariana nodded. "What song do you wanna sing?"

Mitchell laughed, "You choose."

The home crowd cheered, they were in the lead. Alexandria was sitting with Michael, her on-again off-again boyfriend, watching the game. It was half-time now, and Mariana walked onto the court as the boys filed out, watching from the hallway between the gymnasium and the locker room.

Mariana was wearing black leather pants, and black leather tank-top, and back healed shoes. Mitchell was wearing all black too. Music began blaring through the speakers and Mariana started singing.

_"There are times   
I swear I know you're here   
When I forget about my fears   
Feeling you my dear___

"_Watchin over me   
My hopes seeks   
Of what the future will bring   
When you wrap me in your wings   
And take me _

_"Where you are   
Where you and I will breathe together   
Once again"_

Mitchell walked up behind Mariana and sang with her.

_"We'll be dancin in the moonlight just like   
We used to do"_

Then Mariana started to sing alone again.

_"And you'll be smiling back at me   
Only then will I be free   
When I can be   
Where you are"_

Mitchell began to sing alone.

_"And I can see your face   
Your kiss I still can taste   
Not a memory erased"_

Mariana sang after him.

_"Oh, I see your star   
Shining down on me   
And I'd do anything   
If I could just   
Be right there"_

She started singing the chorus once more, and Mitchell joined in and dropped out every once in awhile.

_"Where you are   
Where you and I will breathe together   
Once again   
We'll be dancin in the moonlight just like   
We used to do   
And you'll be smiling back at me   
(And you'll be smiling back at me)   
Only then will I be free   
Then I will be free   
So take me where you are"_

Mariana sang that last line, alone, like a silent cry to the boyfriend standing beside her. The thought struck Alexandria as soon as her sister had uttered it. She didn't know why, but the thought chilled her to the bone. But she put it out of her mind as right away Mitchell began singing.

"_Now baby there are times when selfishly   
I'm wishing that you were here with me   
So I could wipe the tears from your eyes and make you see   
(What you mean)   
That every night while you are dreamin   
I'm here to guard you from a fall"_

Mariana joined in, and their voices blended together naturally.

_"And every night I feel alone   
I close my eyes and dream of_

_"Where you are   
Where you and I will breathe together   
(And we will breather together, baby)   
Once again   
We'll be dancin in the moonlight just like   
(We'll be dancing in the moonlight)   
We used to do   
(And you'll be smiling back at me)   
And you'll be smiling back at me   
Only then will I be free   
Then I will be free _

_"Baby I still believe   
(I've got to believe)   
I still believe   
I will touch you that sweet day   
(That sweet day)   
That you take me there   
Where you are   
(Where you are, ooh) _

_"I still believe   
(I've got to believe)   
I still believe   
I will touch you that sweet day   
(That sweet day)   
That you take me there   
Where you are   
(Where you are, ooh, where you are) _

_"I still believe   
(I've got to believe)   
I still believe   
(I'll always be waiting here)   
That sweet day   
(That sweet day)   
Where you are   
(Only wanna be where you are)   
(Oh I still believe)"_

They ended, smiled as ran off the court as someone said over the system, "That was Mariana Watkins and Mitchell Evans singing "Where You Are" by Jessica Simpson with Nick Lachey!"

The crowd cheered all around Alexandria, but she just sat there. She had an eerie sensation from watching them sing this song. It was like one of them was dead, and they both wanted to find each other. And now, Alexandria too was filled with the feeling that the worst was yet to come.

Behind her, a few rows back, Warner Gardner was not clapping either. _Mariana was stunning of course, he thought. __But that Mitchell kid is there. Gosh, I'd give anything to be with Ana. Is there a way?_

**_Coming Soon: Grease__ – Mariana's the lead in the school play._**

****


	16. Grease

**Grease**

****

Alexandria was flipping through a photo album, gazing longingly at the pictures inside. Pictures of when life was easier. She stopped and looked at the picture of herself with Mariana. They had their arms around each other, and wide smiles on their faces. That was the day they had gone to the beach last year, the first day it was open. She flipped the page and looked at the picture of Mitchell carrying Mariana around on his back. The next picture was one that Alexandria didn't want to look at. It was a picture of herself and Michael, her on-again off-again boyfriend, sitting on a beach towel talking. Looking at the pictures brought her back to that day.

_Alexandria and Mariana were sitting on the hot sand, their heads close together talking._

_"Hey girls!"__ Michael shouted out to them. Mariana and __Alexandria__ looked up and saw Michael and Mitchell watching them. Michael had a camera up to his face. The twins threw their arms around each other and smiled. The flash went off and the twins blinked furiously to get the dots out of their eyes. When they were finally able to see Mitchell was standing right in front of Mariana. He smiled and lifted her up into his arms and began running around along the beach, with Mariana giggling as she yelled._

_He ran out into the lake, Mariana protesting. Halfway between the shore and the rubber rope blocking off the sudden drop off he grabbed her left arm and leg. She screamed as he pulled her away from him and dipped her right side into the water, spinning around a couple of times._

_He picked her back up after awhile and ran back to shore. Setting Mariana down on the hot sand he knelt in front of her and, after she had climbed onto his back, ran around the beach. Michael and __Alexandria__ were both laughing as they looked on. Michael grabbed the camera and took a picture._

_They started talking. Awhile later, unknown to __Alexandria__ and Michael, Mariana and Mitchell ran up and grabbed the camera, taking a picture._

Alexandria put her hands up to her face as she looked at the picture of her and Michael. Life would never be that simple again. Throwing the picture book off her bed she turned and cried into the pillows. Why did this have to happen to her?

"Mariana," a woman behind her said as Mariana was walking to her locker.

Mariana turned around to face her choir teacher. "Hi Mrs. Owens."

"Mariana, I know you're able to sing now. You and Mitchell did an excellent job on Friday. You got our boys to state! But, are you going to be ready in time for the play this weekend?" she asked. "You have had some good practice time. But you've also missed a lot, what with the stabbing and the kidnapping. I know it's not your fault. But if I gave the main roll to a junior instead of a senior, I have to make sure you'll do a great job. Shelly has rehearsed with the cast. She'll be able to do it if you can't."

Mariana looked at her teacher and said, "I can do this Mrs. Owens. I know I can. Please, with all that's happened already, don't take this away from me."

The choir teacher smiled at her. "I'll tell you after practice tonight whether or not I think you can do this."

Alexandria opened the door to the apartment. She smiled at Luka and Abby who were sitting at the counter in the kitchen. Shutting the door she walked up to them, setting her backpack on the floor as she dropped her keys onto the counter. "Hi."

"Hi sweetie," Luka said, setting his coffee mug back on the counter. "How are you doing?"

"I'm okay," she replied. "You?"

Luka sighed, "I'm okay too."

Alexandria looked at his weary face, realizing that what had happened to her was hard on him too. When Luka had adopted them he couldn't have expected to have to follow them out of the country to get them back from a maniac aunt, and then to have one of the raped when he took the girls on vacation.

"I'm gonna go in my room for awhile," Alexandria said turning away from them. She was almost to her room when Abby called out to her.

"Alexandria!"

Alexandria turned around. "Yeah?"

"Can I talk to you? In your room?" Abby asked.

Nodding, Alexandria turned around and went in, sitting on her bed as she waited for Abby to come join her. Abby came in and softly shut the door behind her. She walked forward and sat down on Mariana's bed. 

Smiling she said, "Alexandria, I want to talk to you about the baby."

"What about the baby?" 

"You're planning on keeping it?" Abby asked. 

Alexandria nodded. 

"I used to work in OB. I'd like to help you plan for the baby, if that's all right. Because, babies are a lot of work, and take a lot of planning. And it's always hard for a teenage mother to make some of these decisions. For you, and the baby, I'd like to help you out a little," Abby said before quickly adding, "The decisions will be made entirely by you, but I'll tell you about things, and advise you on things."

Alexandria nodded, "Yeah. That would be nice."

Abby smiled. Looking at her watch she said, "Well, I have to go to work now. Why don't I pick you up after school tomorrow and we'll go to, Dairy Queen, or something."

Alexandria smiled, "Yeah. Sounds good."

"Okay," Abby smiled and stood up, walking out of the room. Alexandria sighed and fell back on her bed, staring up at the ceiling.

"Alexandria!" Luka called out a few minutes later.

Blinking furiously to get rid of the tears that were building up in her eyes she stood up and walked out, standing in the doorway. "Yeah?"

He grabbed a piece of chocolate from the counter and popped it into his mouth. Looking at her he quickly chewed and swallowed it and then said, "Abby and I have to go to work now. When's Ana going to get home from play practice?"

"I don't know. She's going to Mitchell's after practice is over. She'll probably be there for awhile," Alexandria told him.

"Do you want one of us to stay home?" Luka asked.

Alexandria shook her head, "No. I want to be alone for awhile."

"You sure?" he asked.

Alexandria nodded. "Yeah."

"Okay," he said, "There's spaghetti sauce and noodles in the fridge. There's some other stuff in their too. You can have whatever you want. There's also some chocolate on the counter. You can have as much of that as you like."

Alexandria nodded. "Okay."

"I'll see you later," Luka said as he and Abby walked out the door.

"Yeah. Bye."

Alexandria stared at the door, making sure they were gone. After a couple minutes she ran over to her backpack and pulled out a small plastic bag. She had stopped at Target on her way home from school.

Mitchell was walking over towards the auditorium when he ran into Warner Gardner. Mitchell smiled at him, "Hi Warner."

Warner looked at him and, without smiling, said, "Hello Mitchell."

"What are you doing here?" Mitchell asked. "Are you in the play?"

"No. I came to listen to Mariana sing," Warner replied. "Are you in the play?"

Mitchell smiled, "No."

"Then what are you doing here?" Warner asked.

"I'm picking Ana up," Mitchell replied.

"Oh," Warner said, walking away from Mitchell. Mitchell smiled to himself. Did Warner Gardner have a crush on his girlfriend?

Some music started and Jackson Harris, the senior who was playing the lead male roll started singing, "I've got chills, they're multiplying, and I'm loosing control…"

The cast was practicing "You're the One That I Want." Both boys outside waited until Mariana started singing, and they perked up immediately.

"You better shape up, cause I need a man. And my heart is set on you…" her voice rang through the air and both boys smiled.

Mitchell walked forward and opened the door slightly.

"You're not supposed to do that," Warner whispered smugly.

Mitchell looked at him, smiled, shrugged and looked through the crack. Soon, Warner was behind him looking over his shoulder.

As the song finished Mitchell burst through the door, clapping. The cast looked up and all smiled, laughing. Mariana smiled. Jumping off stage she ran up the stairs in the auditorium and threw her arms around him in a big hug. Hiding behind the wall, but still peering in, Warner watched as Mariana gave Mitchell a kiss. She turned back around and faced the stage, Mitchell keeping an arm around her waist.

Warner clenched and unclenched his fist. _Not now, not now. This is not the time or the place. _

With that thought he ran off and left the school building.

Mrs. Owens was smiling. "Hi Mitchell. Great job on that duet with Ana last Friday. Let's end rehearsal for today. You guys get out five minutes early."

"Amazing since we usually get out five minutes late!" Jackson shouted and the cast laughed.

Mrs. Owens laughed as well, although she pretended to be upset, "Jackson Harris! I can't believe you'd say something like that!"

Looking around she said, "Shelly, Mariana, can you two come here?"

Mariana turned around and smiled at Mitchell. "Well, I'll find out if I'm still in the play."

"I'm sure you will be," Mitchell said reassuringly, kissing her lightly on the lips. Mariana smiled and whispered, "I hope you're right."

She ran over and joined Shelly who was waiting impatiently. Mrs. Owens smiled at the girls, "I watched how Mariana performed today," she started. "Ana, you did a wonderful job. And after all that's happened, you need something good in your life. I think you'll be ready by the opener. I'm sorry Shelly, but Mariana gets to keep her role."

Shelly glared at Mariana before walking off. Mariana watched after her sadly. When she turned around she smiled at Mrs. Owens and said, "Thanks Mrs. Owens. This means a lot to me."

Mrs. Owens smiled. "I know. And I know that no matter how much it would mean to Shelly to be the lead her senior year, it'll mean more for you to have something good in your life this year. And you'll have no problem being ready for the opener."

Mariana smiled, "I'll see you tomorrow."

She grabbed her backpack from one of the chairs and ran up to Mitchell. Smiling at her he said, "Judging by Shelly's reaction, you're still Sandy."

Mariana smiled, "Yep! I'll be the lead!"

Mitchell smiled, "I knew you would be."

Putting his arm around her shoulder, they walked to his car.

Alexandria angrily threw the small white stick towards the bathtub. It hit the shower faucet and hit the bottom of the tub with a loud crack. "Damn test!"

She mentally kicked herself after she realized what she said. Alexandria wasn't the twin that swore, Mariana was. Although not a lot, she didn't have the best language. But Alexandria was a good kid, and that's one of the reasons she shouldn't be pregnant! Although, she didn't want Mariana to be pregnant either.

She picked the test up out the bathroom and shoved it into the box. Walking into her room, she threw it away. The test was still positive. She didn't know why she'd decided to retake the test. It was obvious that after three tests she was pregnant. 

Walking out of her room she looked in the refrigerator. She didn't want any of the food in there. Opening up the freezer she checked for ice cream. None. Walking over towards the counter she picked up two of the chocolate bars and her keys. Walking out of the apartment she decided to go to Dairy Queen.

"Hi Ana," Mitchell's younger brother asked as they walked in. 

She smiled at him. "Hi Ryan."

Mitchell and Mariana walked up to his attic and shut the door behind them. Dropping their bags on the floor, Mariana walked over to the bed and dropped down on it, closing her eyes.

"You okay?" Mitchell asked her.

She opened her eyes and saw him leaning against the door to his room. She smiled, "I guess. I'm okay as I can be."

He nodded and walked over to his CD player. Looking through his CD's he smiled as he pulled one out. Putting it into his CD player he flipped through until he got to the song he wanted. 

He walked over to the bed and held out a hand smiling. 

"What?" Mariana asked as she got up and walked into his arms.

The song began playing. It was "Objection" by Shakira, the tango song. She smiled as they started dancing around the room. After the song was done he walked her over to the bed and sat down, pulling her into his arms. 

"I love you Ana," he whispered into her ear.

Mariana smiled, tears brimming her eyes. "I love you too Mitch."

Alexandria walked into the Dairy Queen. As she looked up at the menu board hanging over the counter she heard the door open and shut behind her.

"Alexandria?" a male voice asked behind her.

Alexandria turned around and smiled. "Hey Michael! How are you?"

"I'm good, you?" he asked, looking at her with a worried expression on his face.

"I'm fine," she smiled.

"That's good," he smiled. "Man, you and Ana just went through a lot. Her being stabbed and then being kidnapped!"

_And being raped, Alexandria thought but didn't mention it. For now, she didn't want anyone else knowing. She knew that Ana had probably told Mitchell. And Carter, Luka and Abby knew. But that was all for now, no one else needed to know._

"Yeah. Well, we're doing pretty well now," she smiled.

"You getting ice cream?" he asked.

Alexandria nodded, laughing. "Have you ever known me to get anything else besides ice cream at DQ?" 

He laughed too, "No. Just checking though. You alone?"

Alexandria smiled, "Yeah. You?"

He nodded. "Yep. How about we make it a date? My treat." 

Alexandria smiled. "Yeah."

"You getting the usual?" he asked.

She nodded, "Yeah."

Walking up to the register he ordered. Soon a blizzard for himself, and one of the brownie ice cream treats for Alexandria were being set on the counter. They picked up their ice cream and walked to one of the booths.

Sitting down they ate and caught up on lost time. After they were finished Michael walked to Alexandria to her car. She opened the door and then turned around smiling. "Thanks. I had a great time tonight."

Michael smiled, "Me too."

Leaning forward he gently gave her a kiss on the lips. "We should go out again later."

Alexandria nodded. "Yeah, that would be great!"

"Summer dreams, ripped at the seams. But, oh, those summer nights!" Jackson and Mariana sung as the cast around them sung, "Those summer nights!"

The audience applauded as the curtains closed on Mariana in her white button-up shirt and poodle skirt, her black hair held back in a pony tail. 

A couple scenes later the curtains reopened to her next musical number. She was wearing a white tank nightgown that ended right above her knees. The music began playing and she sang "Hopelessly Devoted to You."

At the end of the play, she came out, her hair in curls. She was wearing black leather pants, and a black shirt that dipped off her shoulders. But unlike the shirt worn in the movie, Ana's shirt was looser. 

The cast sang the last numbers "You're the One That I Want," "We Go Together." 

There was a curtain call while the theme was playing and then the lights in the auditorium came on. 

Abby leaned over and whispered in Luka's ear, "Did you look at the cast list?"

Luka shook his head. "No, why?"

Abby smiled, opening it up and pointing at the second name on the list. Sandy – Mariana Kovac. And flipping to where they had listed the behind-the-scenes workers, underneath set painters was the name Alexandria Kovac.

A few minutes later Mariana came running out, dressed in her normal clothes, her hair still in curls.

Mitchell smiled and handed her a dozen red roses. "Oh my gosh Mitchell! These are so beautiful! Thank you!"

"You're welcome, sweetie," he replied running his fingers through her curls. "I love your hair like this!"

Mariana smiled. "Thanks! I do too!"

He turned around and let her walk past him over to her sister, Luka, Abby and Michael. 

"You did a great job Ana," Alexandria said smiling. "I'll be surprised if you're not an actress one day."

Mariana smiled, "Thanks Al."

Luka and Abby both smiled brightly at Mariana and told her she did a good job. Mariana saw Michael and smiled. "Hey Michael! How are you?"

"Good," he replied. "I'm glad to see you're doing better."

Mariana laughed, "Thanks."

The group dispersed and headed home for the night. Outside, rain was falling in sheets.


	17. He's...Back...

_"A good listener is not only popular everywhere,_

_but after awhile he gets to know something."_

_~ Wilson Mizner_

**He's…Back…**

****

"What are the pictures of?" Romano asked, pulling the ER staff's attention away from the pack of pictures in Luka's hands. 

Luka looked up, smiled and looked back down, going to the next picture in his hands as he replied, "Picture's from Mariana's play."

"Oh!" Romano exclaimed as he walked around the counter to look. "What play was it?"

The staff peered at the picture of Mariana sitting on a bench by a table in a pink poodle skirt, a white shirt, her hair up in a pony tail, a group of girls crowded around her. On the other side of the picture stood Jackson, the male lead, standing up, looking around the group of boys scattered around the area.

"Grease," was Luka's response.

"Was she Sandy?" Romano asked and Luka nodded as the double doors slid open. The staff looked up to see Dave walking in, a look of disbelief.

"Rain! Rain pouring down in sheets in the middle of May!" he walked up the admit desk and he smiled widely. "I'm….back!"

The staff smiled and looked back at the pictures as Luka turned to the next one, one of Mariana while she was singing "Hopelessly Devoted to You."

Dave looked around the ER. "Woh! Look at what the rain has done! Not only is this place empty, but you guys are all too busy looking at pictures to pick on me!"

He walked around the counter and peered over the other doctors' and nurses' shoulders to look at the picture. 

"Who is that?" Dave asked as he gazed at the picture.

"Mariana," Carter replied.

"Who's Mariana?" Dave asked.

"Luka's daughter," Jing-mei replied.

"Okay, when I left a couple months ago, Luka didn't have a teenage daughter," Dave said, confused.

"I adopted Ana and her twin, Alexandria," Luka informed him.

"Oh. Okay," Dave replied as Luka moved to the next picture. "Are there any pictures of Alexandria in here?"

Luka shook his head. "No. These pictures were taken by a professional photographer who went to the play. Alexandria wasn't in the play, she painted the sets."

Dave nodded his head, "Okay. Mariana's very pretty. Alexandria must be too."

Luka nodded his head, "Yes. They both are very beautiful. But, Dave, they're only sixteen. Seventeen soon. Mariana has a steady boyfriend, her soul mate apparently, and Alexandria sort of has a boyfriend too. Don't try anything."

"She sort of has a boyfriend?" Carter asked.

"Yeah, on-again off-again boyfriend," Luka replied. "At the moment, they're on again."

After they had flipped through the stack of the pictures everyone stepped away from Luka and let him stand up. As the staff crowded around Dave asking him how things had gone with his father Carter pulled Luka off to the side. Leaning close to Luka he whispered, "How's Alexandria doing? With the baby and everything?"

"Well, it's almost two months now. She has her first appointment in a month. But, it's still hard for her. She's not showing yet. But, she's starting to have morning sickness," Luka whispered sadly.

Carter looked down at the ground, nodding his head, "Well, at least she has you, Abby and Ana for support."

Luka nodded, "She has you too."

"What?" Carter asked. "All I've done is talk to her."

"No. You've listened to her, and been there for her. And she needs that kind of person there for her right now," Luka told him.

"It really made that much of a difference?" Carter asked.

"Yeah, it has," Luka replied. "She really likes you too."

Carter smiled, "Wow. I really like her too; she's a great kid who doesn't deserve what happened to her. Let her know I'll be there for her whenever she needs me."

Luka smiled, "I'll tell her."

"Luka, sweetie, I'm going to go pick up Alexandria now. We're going to Dairy Queen," Abby called out.

"Okay!" he said turning around and smiling at her. "See ya later."

"Yep," she said as she walked out the door.

Luka turned back around to Carter when he heard Romano say, "Hi Mariana!"

Luka turned back around and smiled as he watched his daughter approach, smiling as she walked up to Romano and gave the surprised doctor a hug. But an even more surprised Malucci gaped as he wrapped his arms around her shoulders too.

As Mariana stepped back Dave whispered to Jing-mei, "Did he just give her a hug?"

Jing-mei smiled and nodded as Mariana walked past. "Hi. I've never seen you here before."

"I'm M-Malucci," he stammered. "Dave Malucci."

Mariana smiled at him, "Hi Dave. I'm Mariana Kovac. Where's my….there you are Daddio!" 

She walked over to Luka who smiled at her, "Hi Ana. What do you need?"

"I'm going over to Mitchell's and after Abby and Al are done Abby's gonna drop Al off at Michael's. Then they're gonna call us and we're gonna go pick them up and go bowling," she hurriedly told him all in one breath.

Luka smiled, "Okay. I'll see you two when you get home then."

Mariana smiled, "Yep. See ya later." 

As she walked out of the door she called out over shoulder, "Nice meeting you Dave! See ya later Romano!"

The doors whizzed shut behind her and Dave watched her jump into the waiting Mercury Cougar outside the door, before it sped off. 

"Wow," was all he said.

Jing-mei smiled at him, "You have a crush, don't you Malucci?"

At her words Malucci blushed and Luka quickly jumped into the overprotective father mode, "Malucci, she's only sixteen, she has a steady boyfriend, and all she needs is a little fun right now. Don't even think about it!"

Malucci shook his head and walked to the lounge, blushing furiously. After he had gone Carter said, "I think that's the first time we've seen him speechless!"

Abby stopped in front of the school building. Looking towards the door where students were streaming out, finding their rides, their cars or their buses. She smiled when she saw Alexandria stop outside and look around. Waving at her, she quickly looked down at the seat next to her and began throwing the stuff on the seat into the back. 

The seat was finally clean when Alexandria arrived. Opening the door she shoved her backpack in and then sat down, slamming the door shut. Pulling her seat belt she buckled herself up and then looked at Abby, smiling slightly.

"How was school today?" Abby asked her.

"Okay, I guess," was Alexandria's response.

"How are you?" Abby asked.

Alexandria sighed wearily. "I don't know."

Abby smiled sadly and started the car. "I'm sure some ice cream will cheer you up."

Dave walked to his locker. Opening it up, he looked inside, smiling. He put his bag on one of the hooks. He would have to bring a picture to decorate the door, now that the staff had heard about the secret he had kept from them. His child.

Smiling, he shut the door and then turned around as Luka walked in. His smile grew as he remembered his coworkers beautiful daughter. What was the other one like? 

Dave was shocked when he found himself thinking about the sixteen year old teen. What was wrong with him? Dave Malucci had never had a crush on anyone so much younger than him before. In fact the last crush he ever remembered having was on Jing-mei, a crush that he now realized would never go anywhere. But now, he had a crush on a sixteen year old girl.

What was the world coming to?

And why wouldn't that rain stop pouring down from the dismal, gray sky?

Alexandria lifted the spoon up to her mouth. Parting her lips slightly she ate the small corner of the chocolate brownie. She looked up at Abby who was eating her blizzard and smiled.

"So, what should we talk about?" Alexandria asked, not knowing which aspect of the topic that filled her head endlessly each day to begin with.

"Well, first of all, how are you doing?" Abby asked.

"It's starting to get harder now. Getting up every morning to throw up," Alexandria replied.

Abby nodded, "You have an appointment in a month, right?"

Alexandria nodded, "Yeah. Ana and I are going."

Abby smiled. "Then, we need to start preparing. Get things like a crib, toys, a high chair, a changing table, a bassinet."

"Wow! That's a lot," Alexandria said.

Abby nodded, "Yes. Luka and I will pay for it all. We also need to get cloths, diapers."

Alexandria nodded when a thought struck her. "Where are we going to put the baby?"

"Well, we'll…we'll just…" Abby tried to think of a place in the apartment where the baby could go. Definitely not with her and Luka. And although having the baby by Alexandria would be nice, they couldn't do that to Mariana. "We'll…we'll just talk to Luka about that."

The sound of balls striking pins pierced the air as Mitchell grabbed his ball and walked up to the dotted line closest to the booth. Holding the ball up in the correct bowling position he took three steps, bent slightly to the side as he brought his arm back, and then threw it down the lane.

The ball sped down the wooden lane, hitting the front three pins. The impact sent all the pins flying violently before falling and being pushed out of sight. Mitchell smiled as he walked back, sitting at his place by Mariana, his arm around her, picking up a French fry with his other hand and looking at the computer monitor as it flashed the X marking a strike with Mitchell's name above it. 

"How can you be so good at bowling?" Mariana asked.

"Well, one of us has to be. And it's obvious it should be me so that I can teach you," Mitchell smiled at his girlfriend.

Mariana smiled and looked off to her other side where she saw Michael getting up, grabbing his ball. Mariana studied her sister, realizing she wasn't having fun. Leaning over she whispered, "You okay?"

Alexandria nodded, unconvincingly.

"What's wrong?" Mariana asked.

"He's going to hate me when he finds out about the baby," Alexandria whispered.

"You should tell him, before he finds out any other way," Mariana told her.

Alexandria shook her head, "No. I-I can't."

Michael walked back towards them and Mariana and Alexandria quickly smiled. 

"Nine pins down! Still good, but not good enough to beat my strike!" Mitchell yelled, caught up in the normal rivalry between the two best friends.

Neither of the boys noticed the girls' serious expressions.

"Mitchell and Mariana, you two will be riding together," their gym teacher shouted. The couple smiled at each other. It wasn't every day that their teacher paired them up together.

"Michael and Alexandria, you two will be riding together," their teacher shouted.

After she had finished dividing the class up into pairs they each raced over to where the canoes were lined up. Quickly grabbing a life jacket for herself and Mitchell, Mariana ran over to where he was standing by a canoe. 

Throwing the life jackets into the metal boat she grabbed one end as he grabbed the other. Gritting her teeth she picked up the heavy metal canoe and quickly walked with Mitchell out of the building towards the lake right by their school.

When they finally reached the lake-shore Mariana gladly rested the canoe down on the ground. "I hope that we do not have to carry those back in."

Mitchell grinned as he grabbed his life jacket after she had grabbed hers. They both snapped their life jackets on and he said, "Oh, come on! It wasn't that bad!"

Mariana laughed and replied, "Easy for you to say Mr. I-Lift-Weights-Daily!"

"You should join me Ana," he replied. "I'll spot you if you do!"

"Thanks, but no thanks," was her response.

He smiled as he pushed the boat, putting the end in the water as other students came around them. Michael and Alexandria put their boat next to Mitchell's and Mariana's. 

"Have fun canoeing," Alexandria grunted, hoping Ana wouldn't mention the talk they had had the night before discussing a topic of conversation should Alexandria be placed with Michael.

_"Out on the lake where Michael has no place to run to is the perfect opportunity to explain things to him Al!"_

"Have fun _talking," Ana emphasized that last word. Winking she turned away from Alexandria's glare to Mitchell's smiling face. Interrupting him as he chatted with Michael she said, "Sweetie, hold the boat. I'm getting in."_

"Okay, baby," he replied, standing with his legs around the end the of the boat, holding it still as Mariana stepped in, walking down the middle of line and taking her seat at the front. 

Grabbing a paddle she turned around and said, "I'm ready to go sweetie."

Mitchell turned around and, getting the okay from their teacher, pushed off and jumped in the boat.

It was a peaceful feeling out on the water. The first peaceful feeling they'd had in weeks as they glided through the water. The light sound of water lapping up against the boat, the oars slicing the water filled their ears. A nice change from the rain pattering against buildings, hail falling heavily to the ground, lightning and thunder sounding at random moments. Those are the sounds they had been hearing before this nice weather break.

They arrived at the island the class was meeting at without having said a word, the kind of ride they liked to have on occasion. 

They played around and the small island with their class for awhile. After Mitchell began to grow bored he pulled Mariana aside and said, "You know how Ms. Klauser hates it when people even suggest going out four in a boat?"

Mariana nodded, smiling slightly. 

"Let's grab Michael and Alexandria and head back to the school!"

Mariana giggled, "I was hoping you'd suggest that! You get Michael, I'll get Al."

Running towards their friend and sister they grabbed the startled couple from behind. As they ran back towards the boat, they both informed the two of their plans. Michael started laughing immediately and jumped in the canoe, walking towards the back.

Shouting loudly he told Mitchell, "The girls can sit in the middle!"

Michael's shout caught their teachers attention who looked up and said, "All four of you are not going out in the same boat! You know what I have to say about that!"

Alexandria agreed. "Yeah, we shouldn't go out."

But she barely had time to finish that sentence before her sister pushed her into the canoe, pushing towards Michael where Mariana placed her hands on her sister's shoulders and pushed her down so that she was seated, leaning back against the bar in the middle of the canoe, facing Michael. Alexandria smiled tensely as her sister sat down, her back against the other side of the bar facing Mitchell's back. He had just pushed off and they were gliding away from the island, laughing, as their teacher and classmates ran towards the show, shrieking in fear.

Alexandria leaned closer to Mariana so that she could whisper in her ear, "Why'd you have to bring me out here?"

"Relax Al," Mariana replied. "You need to have a little fun right now."

Alexandria whispered back, "Fun is all right, but it has to be safe. You only have your own life to worry about Ana. I have two: mine and my babies!"

Michael's face froze in shock as he heard Alexandria's whisper that was only meant for her sister.


	18. Bye, Bye Birdie

**Bye, Bye Birdie**

****

The ambulance lights were flashing, the sirens screaming, as Mariana and Alexandria walked up to the emergency entrance into the ER. Jing-mei ran out, with Carter and Abby behind her to meet up with EMT's who were putting the stretcher on the ground. 

"A woman was hit by a drunk driver, the driver's on his way in," the EMT informed the staff.

Jing-mei nodded, "What's her condition?" She rushed up to the stretcher and looked down as she exclaimed, "Oh my gosh!"

"She's critical. I don't know how the other driver is," the EMT replied.

"Carter! Abby! We have to get her in now!" Jing-mei yelled and started running with the stretcher. Abby rushed ahead to find an empty room.

Carter looked down as he joined Jing-mei and the EMT. "Oh my gosh!"

The two doctors and the EMT rushed out of sight. Mariana and Alexandria stopped beside the ambulance. Mariana looked at it, and then back into the ER through the doors.

"So, this is what it's like to not be the one in the ambulance," Mariana said.

Alexandria laughed slightly and turned to look at her sister. "Well, at least it was never when you were brought in."

Mariana nodded. "I know. I thought April showers were supposed to bring May flowers, not kill them."

Alexandria nodded in agreement as another ambulance screamed into the ambulance bay. Alexandria turned and rushed out of the way. "Well, the April showers aren't killing the May flowers alone. The May showers are helping," she said as she turned around and saw that her sister was standing in the same place. "Ana! Unless you'd like to be run over get out of the way of the ambulance!"

Mariana looked behind her and saw the ambulance driving in. Her eyes widened and she rushed out of the way. She got by her sister just before Alexandria hit her arm. "What was that for?!"

"You are such an idiot! Why didn't you move out of the way? An _ambulance was coming!" Alexandria exclaimed._

"I know! And all the other times I have heard an ambulance, I've had to stay where I was so they could come get me," Mariana said as Alexandria glared at her. "Old habit I guess."

Alexandria rolled her eyes and shook her head as Luka and Dave ran out of the ER with Haleh close behind.

"This man is in serious condition. He was driving drunk, he hit the person who just came in," the EMT said as everyone ran with the man on the stretcher.

Alexandria watched them closely, "I wonder if they'll be okay."

"Yeah," Mariana whispered beside her.

Alexandria started walking towards the doors. Right before she waked in she turned around said, "Mariana, you coming? I thought you wanted to get out of the rain."

Mariana snapped out of the trance-like state she had been in when she had heard the man had been driving drunk. She shook her head and smiled a little, "Yeah."

When they entered the ER Randi smiled at them. "Hey girls. You can go into the lounge. I'll let Luka know you're there when he comes out."

"Thanks," Alexandria said as she and Mariana walked past Randi into the lounge.

~*~*~*~*~

A half-hour later the monitor still beeped, its green light flat. Wearily Jing-mei said, "One, two, three, charge!"

Carter dutifully followed Jing-mei's hoping for a miracle. But the monitor still beeped, the green light stayed flat. Jing-mei looked up at the clock. "Time of death, 4:30 pm."

Carter pulled away from the body sighing. Abby picked up the clipboard and jotted down the time. When she was done, she hugged the clipboard to her chest as she stared at the body. "I-I can't believe it."

Jing-mei nodded her head, blinking back tears. "Either can I."

Carter looked down at the woman. "Look at her left hand."

"Why?" Abby asked.

"Just look," he said and the two women did. On the woman's hand was a gold ring with a sparkling diamond. 

Jing-mei brushed tears out of her eyes.

"Benton proposed?" Abby questioned.

Carter shrugged, "I'm not certain. But, if I had to make a guess, I'd say that it is Benton who was her fiancé, not some other guy."

Abby sighed as Jing-mei and Carter both pulled the white blanket up. "Goodbye, Cleo," she said as they covered Cleo Finch's body completely.

~*~*~*~*~

Abby walked over to the phone. She picked it up and looked at the card in her hand that they had found in Cleo's wallet. She dialed the number and waited as the phone rang. The machine picked up and Cleo's voice said, "Hi. You have reached Peter, Cleo and Reese. Please leave a message," there was a beep as Abby hung up and looked through the ER's phone book, looking up the number of Benton's new work place. 

When someone answered she said, "Hi, may I please speak to Dr. Benton?"

"Who's calling?" 

"This is Nurse Abby Lockhart, from Cook County General," she replied.

"One moment please," the woman said and put her on hold. Music floated through the receiver for the few minutes before Peter picked up.

"Abby? What's up?" Benton said into the phone.

Abby sighed and said, "Um, we need you to come here right now."

"What's wrong?" he asked.

"It's Cleo."

"What happened?" he asked.

"She was in a car accident."

"Is she okay?"

"Peter, you need to come here now," Abby said, not wanting to tell him over the phone, knowing he already knew.

"Oh my gosh! No!" he whispered.

"Peter, please, just come here now," Abby said.

There was silence for a moment before he said, "Yeah. I-I'll pick up Reese from the daycare here and come over."

~*~*~*~*~

"This doesn't seem too good," Alexandria said looking at the clock.

"Why?" Mariana asked.

"It's taking a long time," Alexandria replied. She got up off the chair she was sitting on and said, "I'm starving, I'm going to go get something to eat from the cafeteria."

"You just had an extra value meal, and ice cream at McDonalds before we came here!" Mariana replied.

"Hey! I'm eating for two here!" Alexandria exclaimed sadly.

Mariana nodded sadly. "Yeah. I'll stay here and wait for dad."

"Good idea," Alexandria replied as she walked out of the lounge. 

~*~*~*~*~

Luka walked out of the name and over to the board that held patient names. He grabbed a marker and pulled the cap off. He quickly jotted down the name of his patient. 

Abby looked up. "He made it?"

Luka nodded. "Yeah, he did. Did your patient make it?"

"No," Abby said as she shook her head, Cleo's wallet still open in front of her, the drivers license showing. Luka saw it.

"Is-is that your patients wallet?" Luka asked.

Abby nodded. "Yeah."

"Cleo was your patient?" Luka clarified.

Abby nodded, "Yes."

"Cleo died?"

Abby nodded once again. "Yeah."

"Did you call someone?" Luka asked.

"Benton. They were…they were engaged," Abby replied.

Luka sighed and looked up as Benton rushed in, Reese in his arms. "Abby!"

Abby looked up. "Dr. Benton! I'll go get Dr. Chen or Dr. Carter."

"No, Abby! Tell me what happened. Please," Benton asked.

Abby nodded and walked over. In a low voice she said, "Cleo was hit by a drunk driver. She flat-lined immediately. We worked for a half-hour. We tried as hard as we could, but…" 

Her voice trailed off so Benton finished, "she didn't make it."

Abby nodded. "I'm so sorry, Peter."

"We were going to get married. I just…I just proposed last night," he whispered.

"I'm so sorry," Abby whispered again.

"Can I go see her?" he asked as Carter walked up.

"Dr. Benton! Did Abby tell you already?" he asked.

Peter nodded. "Yes, she did. I'd just like to see Cleo."

Carter nodded, "I'll take you to her."

Peter nodded, "Abby, would you please take Reese?"

Abby nodded. "I'll take him into the lounge. You can meet us in there."

Randi looked up as Peter and Carter walked down the hall. "Dr. Kovac. Mariana and Alexandria are in the lounge too."

Luka nodded, "Okay. Thanks."

~*~*~*~*~

Luka and Abby walked into the lounge. "Hi, Mariana," Abby said. "Would you hold Reese for a minute?"

Mariana looked up, "Uh, sure." 

Abby set Reese in Mariana's lap. Mariana wrapped her arms around the little boy and looked down at him. She smiled at the little boy who stared up at her and smiled. "Hi, Reese," she said and then noticed the hearing aids. "Dad, why does he have hearing aids?"

"He can't hear. They help him a little," Luka replied.

Abby grabbed two coffee mugs and poured coffee into each. She handed one of the mugs to Luka who sat down at the table and looked at Mariana, "Randi said you and Alexandria were here. Where's Alexandria?"

"She went to the cafeteria to get something to eat. She can't seem to get enough to eat lately," Mariana replied.

"The joy of being pregnant," Abby said sarcastically. "I wish this wasn't happening to her."

Luka and Mariana nodded their heads in agreement. Mariana looked down at Reese who was still staring up at her, watching her intensely. The door opened and Carter, Jing-mei and Benton walked in. Benton walked over to Reese and Mariana. Looking at Mariana he said, "Are you Mariana?"

Mariana nodded and smiled, "Yeah. You are?"

"I'm Dr. Benton. I did your surgery," he replied.

"Oh! Yeah! I remember you! Thank you," she said.

Benton tried to muster a smile, but failed. Instead he just said. "You look a lot better. I'm glad to see it."

"Thanks," Mariana said. "Is Reese your son?" 

Benton nodded as he knelt down in front of Reese. The little boy signed something, and Mariana watched him, amazed to watch his little fingers move into the signs so quickly.

Benton started sighing and said, "We're here because of Cleo."

The boy signed something again and Benton took a deep breath and signed while saying, "Cleo was driving home. And she was hit by someone. Cleo was hurt really bad. And when she was brought here, the doctor's realized that her heart wasn't working. And they tried to restart her heart for a long time. But, but they couldn't. And Cleo's not going to come home again. She, she went into a deep sleep for a very long time. She, she died," Benton finished.

The little boy blinked as tears shimmered in his eyes. Then he quickly signed something and Benton sighed, a long heavy sigh. He signed back, saying, "Yes. Just like mommy."

Everyone was silent for a moment. The door flew open and Alexandria burst in, holding a plate with a hamburger and fries in one hand, pizza in the other. Her arms were close to her abdomen as she held a closed container of fresh tropical fruit and a bag of cheetos. 

Mariana was the first to respond, trying to save her sister from the confused looks Jing-mei and Benton were giving her as she came in with a lot of food. "Thanks for getting me those fries!"

Alexandria walked over and set the food on the table, pushing the fries towards Mariana. Looking over at Abby and Luka she said, "I thought you two might be hungry. I got you two a hamburger…" realizing that wasn't enough she shoved the cheetos towards them, "And these ch…cheetos," she said as she looked towards the fries. Mariana bit into one and looked down at the small plate of fries and then up at the hamburger and cheetos. 

"You know, fries go better with hamburgers," she said and pushed the plate forward grabbing the bag of cheetos, opening it up. She grabbed one and put it in her mouth, then looked down to see Reese looking into the bag. She looked up at Benton and asked, "Can he have some?"

Peter shook his head, "You eat them. I can get him something from the vending machines on our way out."

Mariana shook her head, "No, really. I-I'm not really all that hungry at the moment actually. I don't know why I told her to get me something."

Peter nodded. "If you don't mind."

Mariana gave Reese the chips who started munching on them right away. Alexandria kicked her foot and Mariana shot her a look. Alexandria finished her fruit and picked up the pizza. Abby took one French fry and slowly ate it, Luka did the same. Peter looked back at Reese, signing he said, "Would you like to go see Cleo?"

Reese nodded and Peter picked him up. "Thanks for holding him, Mariana. I'm glad to see you're doing better." Looking at Alexandria he said, "Alexandria, right? Dr. Benton."

Alexandria had just bit into her pizza. She pulled back, the cheese on the piece in her mouth and the rest of the pizza breaking. She chewed a couple times and quickly swallowed before saying, "Yeah. You're the guy who did Ana's surgery, right?"

Dr. Benton nodded. "Yeah. It's nice to see you again. Thanks for holding Reese, Mariana."

He walked out of the lounge with Reese, Carter and Jing-mei following. When they were gone Alexandria glared at Mariana. "Why did you give him the chips?"

"I wasn't hungry!" Mariana exclaimed.

"I am! And I did buy those chips for me you know!" Alexandria exclaimed.

"Sorry! I'll pay you back! He just seemed really sad, somebody he knows died!" Mariana exclaimed bewildered. Abby and Luka, eyes wide, pushed the French fries and hamburger back towards Alexandria.

"Someone he knows died?" Alexandria asked, her eyes wide.

"Yes," Mariana said.

Alexandria broke out into tears as she sat down in a chair. "That's s-so sad!"

"What's wrong?" Mariana asked, getting out of her chair and backing away from her sister.

"Mood swings," Luka replied.

The door to the lounge opened right as he said that and Dave walked in. "Mood swings. Who has them…woh! What's wrong with her?" 

"What does it look like?" Mariana asked.

"Well, why is she having mood swings?" Dave asked.

Luka and Abby looked at each other, not sure how to respond. Alexandria just burst into even more tears not seeing a answer besides the true one. Mariana was quick to respond. "PMS."

"PMS?!" Alexandria exclaimed standing up angrily.

"Woh! Calm down Mrs. Frankenstein!" Mariana exclaimed.

Alexandria glared at her, breathing heavily before she broke out laughing. Dave stared at her, then shook his head and turned to Luka. "Dude, you know that guy who killed Cleo?"

Luka nodded.

"Turns out, he's a police officer."

"What?!" Luka exclaimed.

Dave nodded, "Yeah, can you believe it. A police officer goes to a bar, gets drunk and _drives home. Only, along the way he crashes and kills someone."_

Alexandria stopped laughing and sat back down, picking up the hamburger and taking a bite. Luka and Abby stared out the window, thinking about this new bit of information. 

Mariana started walking around saying, "Oh my gosh. Oh my gosh,"

Dave looked over at her. "Okay, the twins are starting to scare me! What's wrong with you now?"

Mariana stared at him, tears in her eyes, before running out of the lounge. Alexandria, who had just finished half of her hamburger and had taken another bite, stood up and shouted, "Ana!"

She started choking and sat back down. Luka ran around the table to her, just as she swallowed the piece that had gotten lodged in her throat. Abby stood up, looking at Alexandria and out the door where Mariana had just run.

"You stay here with Luka and Alexandria, I'll go find Mariana," Dave said and ran off after Mariana.

Abby looked back at Luka and Alexandria. Alexandria leaning forward, Luka was patting her back. He looked up, "Get her a glass of water," he said and turned back down to Alexandria. "Are you okay?"

Alexandria nodded and picked up the hamburger taking another bite.

~*~*~*~*~

Dave followed Mariana to the sidewalk and saw her turning, ready to the cross the highway. The lights had just turned green, and cars were starting to move across the crosswalk. Mariana took a step off the sidewalk. Dave sped up and called out her name. She turned around for a second. 

The second was all Dave needed to catch up with her, grab her arm, and pull her back. "What are you doing?" she asked angrily, her dark hair whipping around her face as he pulled her back. Tears glistened in her eyes.

"What is the matter with you?" he asked. "You were about to cross the street while the light was green!"

"So?" she asked.

"What's wrong? Why did you run out like that?" he asked her.

"That man who hit and killed Cleo was a police officer!" she said through gritted teeth.

"Yes, I know," Dave said.

"A _police officer had a few drinks, got __drunk, drove home, and hit and __killed someone Dave!" Mariana said._

"I know that Mariana! What's the problem?" he asked. 

"If a police officer can hit and kill someone, a teenager can. I can!" Mariana said as a tear slipped down her cheek.

Dave put his hands on Mariana's shoulders and whispered, "Mariana, the police officer was drunk. He was _drunk Mariana. You don't drink," he said. She looked up at him sharply and he said, "Y-You don't drink, do you?"_

Mariana looked away again, not answering. "You do. Does Luka know about this?"

Mariana nodded. "He knows I got drunk one time. He told me not to do it again."

"And have you?" 

"Not yet. And now, with, I just, I never realized what could happen. You get drunk, you drive, you hit someone, you kill that person, and their loved ones have to suffer," Mariana said. "Is it worth the high you get when you're drunk? Is it worth those few feel-good hours to spend the rest of your life with a persons death on your conscious and, and putting their family through hell?"

"No, no, I'd say it isn't worth it," Dave whispered.

"Exactly! That's what I think too," Mariana said, a tear slipping down her cheek. Dave moved one of his hands from her shoulder to her face and wiped it away.

"So, does…does that mean you're done drinking?" Dave asked.

Mariana sighed, "Yeah. Yeah, I think it does."

Dave smiled, "Good. Now, let's get out of the rain. Why the hell is it still raining?! It hasn't stopped since I came here! I'm surprised Chicago isn't flooding yet!"

Mariana smiled slightly. Dave looked at her, "Are you gonna be okay?"

Mariana nodded, "I think so."

"Good," he said and put his arm around her shoulder.

They started walking back towards the hospital when they heard someone yell, "She did not cheat on you!"

"Mitchell?" Mariana whispered, recognizing the voice.

"Yes she did! How else could she be pregnant?" another voice yelled.

"Do you think Alexandria would really cheat on you, Michael?" the first voice said, more quietly this time.

"What the hell?" Mariana asked as she turned around.

~*~*~*~*~

Mitchell and Michael were sitting in a coffee-shop. "You actually found some time to spend with me!" Michael exclaimed, surprised.

"Of course I have time for you buddy! You're my best friend!" was Mitchell's response.

"But lately, you've just been spending time with Ana," Michael pointed out.

"I know. I know. But, you know, Ana's just been through a really hard time. And I love her…more than anyone!" Mitchell said.

"I know you do. I just miss you. I miss being able to spend time with you. I'm sick of…being home and watching Powerpuff Girls with my little sister," Michael said.

"I know. I'm sorry. But now you have Alexandria to chill with when I'm with Ana," Mitchell said.

"Actually, I'm gonna break up with Alexandria. Once and for all, I can't be with her again," Michael said looking down into his cup of coffee.

"What? Why?" Mitchell exclaimed stunned.

"Because she…she cheated on me!" Michael exclaimed.

"What?!" Mitchell exclaimed. "She did not cheat on you!"

"She's pregnant! And I haven't slept with her!" Michael exclaimed.

"You-you know she's pregnant?" Mitchell asked.

Michael stared at him. "You knew she was pregnant? And you didn't tell me? How could you not tell me? I'm your best friend!" 

"Alexandria doesn't want anyone to know. Ana told me. I'm not even sure if Alexandria knows that I know she's pregnant," Mitchell said.

"But you knew she was cheating on me!" 

"She's not cheating on you!"

"Yes, she is! I didn't do anything with her Mitch. She didn't just get pregnant on her own you know!" Michael said.

"Michael –" Mitchell started.

"You know what, I'm sick of this," Michael stood up and put money down on the table. "She cheated on me, and I can't be with someone who cheats on me. I'm sorry."

He left the coffee shop. "Shit," Mitchell swore as he pulled some money out of his jeans. He slapped his money down on the table and ran out after Michael shouting, "She did not cheat on you!"

Michael turned around, "Yes she did! How else could she be pregnant?"

"Do you think Alexandria would really cheat on you, Michael?" Mitchell asked, catching up with him.

"I never would have thought that she would. But, come on. Face the facts. She's pregnant. She's gonna be a mother. And I sure as hell am not the father. I've never touched her in that way, I never would because I'm not that kind of person!" Michael said. Mitchell was staring over his shoulder, "What? Just because I'm going to dump the sister of the love of your life you suddenly can't even look me in the eye?"

Mitchell sighed. "No, actually I'm not looking you in the eye, because the love of my life is standing behind you."

"What?" Michael asked as he turned around. "Oh, hi Ana."

"So exactly what type of person do you think my sister is?" Mariana asked him icily.

~*~*~*~*~

"Do you think Mariana's all right?" Alexandria asked. She had finished her fruit, hamburger, fries and pizza.

"I don't know," Luka said looking out the door. 

Abby looked at the clock. "We're both off shift. Should we go relieve Dave of his duties and take Ana home?"

Luka nodded, "Yeah. Let's clock out and get going."

~*~*~*~*~

"I don't know! She's uh, she's uh…" his voice went off.

"You better not say the s-word," Mariana told him. "Because, that's the only thing you could use to describe her in this situation, and she's not one."

"I wasn't going to say a slut!" Michael shouted.

"Good!" 

"She's just someone who's…more intimate with the people she's cheating on her boyfriend with," Michael said.

"She's not cheating on you!" Mariana exclaimed. Then a thought hit her. "How do you know she's pregnant anyway? Mitchell, if you told him I will kill you."

"I didn't tell!" Mitchell said, backing up with his hands raised in the air.

"He didn't tell. I heard you and Alexandria talking on the canoe the other day," Michael said. "And I didn't sleep with her. If I didn't, how else could she be pregnant?"

"Think about it Michael!" Mariana yelled, then lowered her voice. "You two just started dating again two weeks ago, after the two months you guys were just friends. If she knows she's pregnant now, then obviously it happened before you two were together again. Especially if she just found a month ago."

Michael nodded. "Okay. She didn't cheat on me. But…I still can't be with her."

"Why? Because you don't like her? That's an okay reason, even though you're crazy if you don't!" Mariana shouted.

"No, it's not there. I really like her a lot!" Michael said.

"Then why? I don't get it Michael!" Mariana said.

"Because she's pregnant. That means she slept with someone. And I'm not ready to be in a relationship with someone who does sleep with the people she's with," Michael said.

"Do you really think that Alexandria would sleep with anyone?" Mitchell asked.

"No. But she's pregnant Mitchell. You know how women get pregnant just as well as I do," Michael said.

"You don't know the circumstances of her pregnancy, Michael. Don't jump to conclusions," Mitchell said.

"Well then, why don't you tell me the circumstances?" Michael said.

"She was raped," Mariana whispered. "Someone raped her when we went to Croatia."

"Ana! What are you doing?" came a voice from behind her.

Mariana turned around and saw Alexandria standing behind her, her face one of surprise, shock and hurt. Luka and Abby were behind her, both looking disappointed. And Dave was standing beside them, a look of pure confusion and bewilderment on his face.

"Why did you tell him? I don't want anyone to know! It's fine if Mitchell knows, but…not other people!" Alexandria exclaimed. "Why did you tell him?"

Mariana sighed, "Thanks Michael."

Michael stepped forward. "Is it true? Were you raped?"

Alexandria nodded. Glaring at her sister she said, "Well, now that she told you, yes. I was raped. And I'm pregnant."

Michael sighed. "She was only defending you Alexandria. I heard you talking to her in the canoe about being pregnant. I thought you were cheating on me, and then when she pointed out that you wouldn't have cheated on me since we haven't been dating long enough I said that I didn't want to be with someone who slept with the people she was dating. And that's when she told me what happened."

"Oh," Alexandria whispered. "I'm sorry, Ana. I should have known you wouldn't tell him."

Mariana nodded, "Don't worry about it Al. I would've thought the same thing if I had heard you talking if the situation was reversed."

"Alexandria," Michael whispered taking her hands. "I'm sorry I thought you were cheating on me. I should've known that you would never do something like that. I should have trusted you."

"It's okay Michael! Don't worry about it!" Alexandria said.

"I was planning to break up with you. But, like I told your sister, I really like you. So, if you don't mind after everything I've accused you of, could we still go out? Even if it's only for a little while?"

Alexandria nodded, "Yeah."

"When the baby is born, I'll be here if you ever need me. Just call me, and I'll be there to help," Michael said.

"Thanks," Alexandria smiled.

Michael pulled her closer to him, hugging her tightly. "I'm sorry," he whispered.

Alexandria smiled and put her arms around him, "Don't worry about it Michael."

Mitchell walked closer to Mariana, who had moved out of Alexandria and Michael's way when they had started talking. He smiled at her as he put his arm around her shoulder and pulled her closer to him, kissing the top of her head. "I love you, Ana."

"I love you too, Mitch," she whispered back.

Luka and Abby watched the twins, smiling themselves. Caught up in the moment they walked into each others arms and kissed each other lovingly. Dave, who was watching sighed in disgust as he saw his coworkers kissing, and then smiled at Alexandria and Michael. Then he looked at Mariana and Mitchell who were now gazing into each others eyes, smiling. 

Dave's smile disappeared, and jealously built up inside of him. "You know, we should get out of the rain, or all of us will get sick!"

The three couples parted and nodded in agreement. Luka and Abby started walking across the street, where the cars were now stopped. Michael and Alexandria followed. Mitchell and Mariana started following but stopped in front of Dave. 

Mariana pulled away from Mitchell and hugged Dave. Dave was surprised but soon recovered and wrapped his arms around her. "What's this for?"

"I just wanted to thank you," she said.

"For what?"

"For listening when I was upset," she said.

"No problem," Dave smiled. 

All too soon for him Mariana pulled back and walked back into her boyfriend's waiting arms. "Thanks," she said again. Dave watched as she and Mitchell quickly ran up to Alexandria and Michael.

**Coming Soon: _The Gun  Things are getting rocky in Chicago for the Luka, Abby, Mariana and Alexandria. What will happen next?_**


	19. The Gun

**_A/N: __Songs used are "Irresistible" by Jessica Simpson, "A Little Bit" by Jessica Simpson, "There You Were" by Jessica Simpson and Marc Anthony, "To Fall In Love Again," by Jessica Simpson, "Objection (Tango)" by Shakira and "Forever" by John Stamos._**

****

**The Gun**

****

Alexandria was sitting at the counter as Mariana cut up some strawberries. They were both singing along with "Irresistible" by Jessica Simpson. Mariana threw the strawberries into the blender as the CD went to the next song, "A Little Bit" and the girls continued to sing.

Mariana walked over to the freezer and opened the door. "Damn. We don't have yogurt. Oh well!" She opened the refrigerator and pulled out some milk. Walking back over to the blender she grabbed a measuring cup and measured out two cups of milk, putting that into the blender over the strawberries. She put the top on and started the blender. 

After the second time she had taste-tested the liquid, and added some more strawberries and milk she ran over to the cupboard and opened up the door. "Margarita or Daiquiri glasses?"

"Daiquiri," Alexandria responded. Mariana grabbed those glasses and ran back to the blender. She took the top off and poured the mixture into each of the glasses.

"One strawberry smoothie for you Miss Alexandria," Mariana said with an air of formality, making Alexandria laugh. "And one for me."

They were both wearing dark blue tank tops, with an orange skirt tied at their waist, trying to make a more summery experience out of the rainy, dreary day outside. Mariana grabbed two little umbrella's from a drawer as she walked around the counter, putting one in her sisters drink. They walked over to the living room and started dancing around. 

There was a knock on the door and Mariana danced over. She took a sip of the smoothie as she opened it up. Mitchell and Michael were standing in the hall. Alexandria danced over behind Mariana. 

Mitchell and Michael smiled at the girls. "What are you two doing?" Mitchell asked.

"Is it a little early for a tropics? And dreary?" Michael asked.

"But that's why we're doing it!" Alexandria responded.

"And why is that?" Mitchell asked.

"Because the weather sucks outside, so we're gonna pretend that it's nice in here!" Mariana said. "Come in!"

She grabbed their arms and pulled them in, pulling Mitchell closer to her, and pushing Michael towards Alexandria, slamming the door shut behind them. "There You Were," Jessica Simpson's duet with Marc Anthony came on, and the four teens started singing along, the girls taking Jessica's part, the boys taking Marc's part. 

Mariana danced over to the cupboard and pulled out two more daiquiri glasses, filling them with the smoothie. She put little umbrella's in them and gave one to Mitchell, and one to Michael. 

They were laughing and having a good time. But Michael couldn't shake the feeling that this was the last good time they'd have for awhile…and together.

~*~*~*~*~

Luka had just released a patient, and was now leaning forward against the admit desk. He was breathing slowly and heavily, trying to slow down his heart. It was beating fast, faster than it ever had. And it pounded so hard that it hurt. 

Abby came over and rubbed his back, looking at him. "What's wrong Luka?"

Luka shook his head, "I am so nervous! I don't know why!"

Abby stroked his hair lovingly, "Sweetie, things will be okay."

"Are you sure?" he asked looking at her. "Can you guarantee me that things will be okay?"

Abby looked away from him, away from his eyes which were darker than usual with fear, and filled with unshed tears. "I'm sorry Abby," he whispered turning to face her completely and pulling her into his arms. "I can't make you promise something like that. It's not fair to you. You can't tell the future."

Abby closed her eyes against her own tears that were now brimming in her eyes. "I wish I could. So that I could promise you things will be all right. But Luka, whatever happens to you, me or one of the twins, just know that somehow things will end up all right. Whatever happens, whoever has to, will be able to move on sometime in their life."

Abby hoped that she was right with that assumption. Because if something happened to one of the twins, she didn't know if the other would ever recover. And she didn't know if Luka could handle losing another daughter. And if she was the one who had to hold the remaining family together, she didn't know if she could handle it either. 

~*~*~*~*~

They were still dancing. The guys holding the girls tight as they swayed to the music, even though some of them weren't made for slow dancing. In the middle of the song they were listening to at the moment the lyrics made chills go down her back as she whispered, singing:

_"****__And will your arms still hold me  
And your eyes console me"_

The rest of the song, "To Fall In Love Again," didn't ring true for the situation she and Mitchell were in. They both loved each other, and they knew it. They both wanted to be married one day. But those two lines chilled Mariana to the bone, and she didn't know why. Closing her eyes, she held him tighter and whispered, "I love you Mitchell."

Mitchell wanted to pull back and look into her eyes, see what she was feeling. Because her voice sounded pained. But she wanted to hold him, so he just tightened his eyes around her and whispered back, "I love you too."

Alexandria watched them over Michael's shoulder. Mitchell slowly turned around, his eyes closed. When Alexandria could see her sisters face, she saw that her eyes were squeezed shut. 

_She's trying not to cry, Alexandria realized. __What's wrong?_

~*~*~*~*~_  
  
_

Alexandria was walking down the hallway at school. She had asked Mariana what had been wrong, but Mariana had said that things were fine. She didn't believe her though. Alexandria knew something was wrong with her twin.

She had asked her biology teacher if she could go to the bathroom. She hadn't wanted to stay in there when she couldn't concentrate. Now, she was walking around the school aimlessly, thinking about things. 

About Mariana and her strange behavior the day before. About how in just a few months she really would be leaving class to go to the bathroom, every day, a couple times a day, as the baby grew.

She looked to her side and saw Warner Gardner standing by his locker. The door was all the way open and she saw the inside of it. The door and the longer part was plastered in pictures of Mariana from all the various performances for school she had done the past three years. He was stroking her face in one of the pictures saying, "I love you Mariana. I do. I love you so much."

Alexandria stood and gaped at him for a moment. A strange feeling took over her. She walked up to him and icily said, "Hi Warner."

Warner turned around, shutting the door. "Alexandria!"

"You can open your door again if you like. Don't worry, I saw the shrine you made!" she said.

"I can't help it Alexandria! I love her!" he said.

"You love her? It looks more like you're obsessed with her!" Alexandria shouted.

"I'm a fan," he said.

"An obsessed fan!" Alexandria shouted.

"It's easy for you to say I'm obsessed. You get to see her every day. You know she loves you! You're her sister, her _twin sister!" Warner shouted. "You get to talk to her, to hear her voice, to see her every day. I don't! It's hard to love someone so much, and not be able to see them!"_

"Overly obsessed fans like you often cause trouble for someone. They stalk them and even hurt them!" Alexandria shouted. Then she lowered her voice, "If Mariana is hurt, I will kill you. I promise you that. You so much as cause one hair on her head to be pulled out and I will kill you."

"What?" Warner asked. "Are you threatening me?"

"No," Alexandria whispered. "I'm _promising you that. There's a difference. I'm not just saying that I'd like it to happen; I'm saying that it __will. Understand?"_

"No, why don't you say it one more time?" he said.

She knew he was trying to get her to back down. But she wouldn't. She wasn't lying. If Mariana was hurt because of him, she would kill him.

"If _anything happens to hurt my twin sister because of __you, I __will kill you," she said and walked away. _

She didn't realize until she had turned the corner that she was shaking. Opening the door to her classroom she walked back in. Her teacher smiled at her and continued teaching. She walked down the row to her seat and sat down. She picked up her pencil to start taking notes, but her hands were shaking so much she couldn't write.

Michael leaned over, "Come over after school. You can copy my notes. You okay?" he whispered.

Alexandria smiled at him and whispered, "Thank you." 

~*~*~*~*~

Luka was lying on the couch when Dave walked in. "What's wrong Luka?"

"I'm okay," Luka whispered.

"Then why are your hands shaking?" Dave asked.

Luka looked down at his hands. They were, indeed, shaking. "I'm just a little nervous."

"About what?"

"I don't know."

~*~*~*~*~

Warner sighed with relief as he walked away from his locker. Her threats came from a feeling she had, he decided. She hadn't seen the gun at the top of his locker.

~*~*~*~*~

Mitchell put a burned CD in his CD player. He walked over to Mariana who was sitting stiffly on the edge of his bed. The first song to play was "Objection," the song Shakira did. The tango song. 

Hoping to relax his girlfriend he pulled her off the bed and they danced to the song. When it was over he looked at her face. She still wasn't smiling, but her shoulders weren't as tense.

He sat down on the bed and pulled her into his arms. Kissing her he said, "Are you okay?"

She shrugged. "Something bad is going to happen."

"Why do you think that?"

"I just know. Something bad is going to happen."

Mitchell held her tightly and whispered, "I love you, Ana."

"I love you too," she whispered back.

The song "Forever" was playing. It was the version where John Stamos, the love ballad.

As his voice filled the air Mitchell listened to the words. 
    
    _If every word I said could make you laugh_
    
    _ I'd talk forever (together my love)_
    
    _I asked the sky just what we had_
    
    _Ooh, it shone forever (together my love)_
    
    _If the song I sing to you, could fill your heart with joy _
    
    _I'd sing forever (together) _
    
    _(Together my love)_
    
    _Forever_
    
    _Forever_
    
    _I've been so happy loving you_
    
    _If the love I had for you_
    
    _Could live in your heart forever (together my love)_
    
    _Forever_
    
    _Forever_
    
    _I've been so happy loving you_
    
    _If every word I said could make you laugh_
    
    _I'd talk forever_
    
    _Forever_
    
    _Forever_
    
    Mitchell's eyes welled up with tears and he looked down, seeing some tears falling down Mariana's cheeks. He could tell she was thinking the same thing. This would be the last time that Mitchell held Mariana in his arms again.
    
    _I've been so happy loving you._
    
    **Coming Soon: _Only Time __One episode left and the season is over. What will happen? Only time will tell._**


	20. Only Time

**_A/N: __Songs used are "Only Time" by Enya and "Breathe" by Faith Hill. This is the last story of season one, but season two will be coming shortly after this one. _**

**Only Time**

__

_Who can say where the road goes, __  
Where the day flows?   
Only time... _

"What's wrong Luka?" Abby asked him the next day. Luka was sitting at a table in the lounge, his head in his hands, his arms propped up on the table. 

"I shouldn't have let the twins go to school today," Luka whispered.

"Why?" Abby asked, confused.

"Something doesn't seem right. Something's gonna happen," Luka told her.

"What do you think is going to happen?" Abby asked him.

"I don't know. But one of them is going to get hurt. I know it," was Luka's response.

Abby sighed and sat down next to him, rubbing his back. 

"I've had this feeling all day, Abby. I just can't get rid of it," Luka whispered again as thunder rumbled outside.

~*~*~*~*~

****

Lightning flashed, following the thunder that had ripped through the air moments earlier. Mariana stared out the window at the storm raging outside. The trees were blowing wildly in the wind. The sky was black. The lights inside the room barely kept the room lit well enough to see the board for the notes. The dark sky wasn't just blackening the world outside the school, but the world inside the school as well.

There was a knock at the door and everyone jumped in their seats, startled. The teacher walked over to answer the door. "Yes?"

"Can I see Mariana Watkins, please?" the boy outside asked. 

"Why?" the teacher asked.

"We need to talk to her about a program that we're gonna be having soon. We want her to sing," the boy replied.

The teacher looked at Mariana and said, "You can go Ana."

Mariana got out of her seat and walked forward. She left the classroom, closing the door behind her. "Hey, Ryne," she greeted the boy.

Ryne smiled. "You actually know who I am."

Mariana looked at him, confused and said, "Yeah."

"Well, come on," he said, and started to walk down the hall. Mariana followed.

~*~*~*~*~

_And who can say if your love grows, ****__  
__As your heart chose? ****__  
__Only time... ****___

****

Mitchell was doodling in his notebook. Thunder boomed and a flash of lightning pierced the blackened sky. He jumped slightly and then looked back at his doodle. A heart with Mariana's name inside.

Why did he feel the way he did now? That he would never be able to be with Mariana? He loved her; he never wanted to be away from her, ever. And he knew she loved him too. So, why would they never together? Why did he have this strong feeling that he would never be able to hold her, or kiss her again?

There was a knock on the door, and again, he jumped. The teacher answered it and a boy outside said, "Can I please speak with Mitchell?"

The teacher nodded, "Sure. You can go Mitchell."

Mitchell nodded, closed his notebook and stood up. He walked out the door and shut it behind him. "Hi Warner, what do you want?"

Warner smiled and said, "Follow me. I gotta talk to you, and your girlfriend."

Warner turned down a hallway that the school never used. "Warner, are we supposed to go down here?"

"Chill, Mitchell. We're fine. We all need to talk privately. We can do that here," Warner said.

Mitchell's heart began to race. "We? Who's we?" 

"You, me, Mariana, and Ryne," Warner said.

"Mariana's here?" Mitchell asked.

Warner nodded.

"With Ryne?"

Warner nodded.

"Yes, right in that room," Warner pointed into a lit room. "Let's go in."

Warner turned into the room and Mitchell followed. Ryne was leaning against the wall directly in front of the door. Warner turned and walked deeper into the room, smiling. "Hi Mariana."

"Warner?" she asked in a confused tone. 

Mitchell quickly turned and saw Mariana standing at the back of the room, leaning against the wall. When she saw him her eyes lit up and she smiled, straightening up. "Mitchell!"

Mitchell started walking towards her, but Warner put a hand up to his chest stopping him. "You get one minute to talk to her, and she gets a minute to talk to you. Say all you've ever wanted to say to her, and then we're gonna go to a different room to discuss something privately. And Ryne will stay here with Mariana and talk to her privately."

Mitchell opened his mouth to ask him what this was all about but Warner stopped him. "Look, go talk to your girlfriend, or we'll just go and talk now."

Mitchell looked at him and walked past him, wanting to see Mariana. She looked scared, and he wanted to be there to comfort her. 

"Remember Mitchell. Everything you want her to know. In a minute," Warner said. "You can start…now."

Mitchell looked into Mariana's eyes. Tears were filling them and one tear was slipping out. He wiped it away and smiled at her, "Baby, I love you. I love you a lot. You know I do. Everything will be okay. Don't be scared. I love you. Everything will be okay, baby," he pulled her closer to him and whispered in ear. "As long as I live you'll be my girl. I promise you that. I love you more than anything. I want to spend the rest of my life with you by my side."

"Minutes up," Warner said and the two people looked at him. His face was a mask of pure pain, matching his voice. It was hard for him to listen to them talk. "Ana, you have a minute starting…now."

Mariana looked back into Mitchell's eyes. "I don't know why he wants us to do this. But I love you too Mitchell. I'll always love you. I want to spend the rest of my life with you too. I love you and…and…I'm so scared. I don't know what to say, or why we're supposed to do this. I-I love you Mitchell." 

Taking his head in her hands she pulled it closer to hers and kissed him. She stroked his cheeks as she kissed him. A while later she heard a strangled voice, "M-minutes…up."

The couple pulled apart and looked up. Warner's face was red, tears in his eyes, and he was staring at the clock, not at them. After a moment he looked back. "Mitchell, come with me. We need to talk."

Mitchell nodded, looked back at Mariana, and kissed her again.

"I said now!" Warner shouted.

Mitchell rubbed Mariana's shoulder and as he walked past she grabbed his hand. "What's going to happen Mitchell?"

"I don't know," he said softly, shrugging.

"Let go of him now Mariana!" Warner shouted.

Mariana quickly dropped Mitchell's hand. Mitchell took one last look at her, smiled and then followed Warner out of the room.

After they had left the room the door quickly closed so that there was only a slit between the door and the frame. Mitchell looked at it and said, "What's happening in there?"

"Nothing," Warner said stopping.

"That guy better not touch Mariana," Mitchell said. "Or hurt her."

"Don't worry. That's not part of the plan," Warner said.

"And what exactly is the plan?" Mitchell asked.

"You know, it was really painful to stand in there and listen to you guys talk about how much you loved each other. And you kept kissing!" Warner said. "But I don't have to worry about that anymore."

"What is the plan, Warner?" Mitchell asked.

"This."

~*~*~*~*~

_Who can say why your heart sighs, ****__  
__As__ your love flies? ****__  
__Only time..._

Mariana wanted to run and follow him as Mitchell left the room. Instead, Ryne walked over to the door, and closed most of the way. "What are you doing?" she asked him.

"I'm giving Warner and your boyfriend some privacy," Ryne replied.

"Why are we here? I thought you guys were planning something and wanted me to sing," Mariana pointed out.

"That's just what we told your teacher so that we could get you here," Ryne said.

"So, why am I here?" Mariana asked.

"So that you could see your boyfriend," Ryne said.

"Why?" Mariana asked. Ryne wouldn't answer. "What's happening out there? What are you going to do? Why am I here? Come on! Answer me! What the hell is happening?"

~*~*~*~*~

Mitchell looked away from Warner back to the door. His heart was pounding in his chest, and now it was pounding harder. "What's happening in there?" Mitchell asked. "Ryne better not be doing anything to Ana."

"So full of love," Warner chuckled. "Look at the situation you're in, and you're worried about your girl who's safe and sound in there. Don't worry. He won't be hurting her. I made the plans, and I know for a fact that hurting her is not in the plans."

"Then what's wrong? Why is she yelling?" Mitchell asked. 

"She's just getting a little antsy. Wants to know what's going on," Warner said. "I don't want to make her wait in fear much longer. Why not answer her question."

Mitchell's eyes grew wide with fear.

~*~*~*~*~

Alexandria was in biology, copying the notes when an immense wave of fear hit her. She looked up. Mariana was scared. Alexandria could feel it. 

The fear started to hit her, faster and stronger. Alexandria swayed slightly in her chair. Michael leaned over, "What's wrong Alexandria?"

Alexandria shook her head, breathing heavily. "Nothing."

Quickly she got out of her chair and started walking towards the door.

"Alexandria, where are you going?" the teacher asked.

"Oh! Sorry, may I please go to the bathroom?" Alexandria asked.

Thunder boomed, shaking the windows in the room. A gunshot followed. The teacher's eyes widened. "No, you may not!"

Alexandria didn't listen. She spun around fear filling her body and not leaving. "Mariana!" she screamed, running towards the door. The teacher was right behind her grabbing her and pulling her back. Alexandria broke free and ran forward. The teacher came over and picked her up, dragging Alexandria kicking and screaming behind his desk. 

He leaned against the wall, holding Alexandria who was still kicking and screaming, not knowing what to do.

~*~*~*~*~

The principal heard the gunshot ring through the air. He sat up straight and alert. Surprised at his calmness he pressed the button that sent the automated telephone message they had created when school violence had been at an all-time high telling the teachers to get the students out of the school through the windows as soon as possible before one of the shooters was able to reach the classroom. Luckily it was a one-floor school.

After he had sent the message he walked out into the office and told the secretaries to leave the building. Then he walked into the hall to meet with the school police. 

"We called the station for reinforcements," one of the police-men said.

"I sent out the message to the teachers," the principal said.

"We should start looking," one of the police-men said.

"I'm going with you."

"That's not necessary, Principal."

"No, I'm going."

"Okay, whatever you say."

~*~*~*~*~

_And who can say why your heart cries, ****__  
__When__ your love dies? ****__  
__Only time... ****___

****

The gunshot rang through the air, answering all of Mariana's questions. 

"Mitchell!" 

"Shut up you bitch!" Ryne said, opening his coat and grabbing a holster that was tied around his waist inside it. 

"What the hell are you doing?" Mariana yelled. "Why are you doing this to us?"

"Shut up! You think you're the ones being victimized here? What about Warner? He loves you! And you just walk around with that little boyfriend of yours! Well, not anymore!" Ryne yelled.

"Mitchell!" Mariana screamed and started to run forward.

"Stop running!" Ryne shouted. "And stop screaming you bitch! I'll be lucky if I'll be able to hear when we leave!"

"You'll be lucky if you don't go to jail!" Mariana yelled. "An accomplice to murder! You call Warner the victim? He just killed someone! Mitchell didn't do anything to him and he just killed him!"

"You're right! Your boyfriend didn't do anything! You're the one who spent time with the so-called 'love of your life.' You're the one who did this to Warner, made him crazy! You're the one who did this to Mitchell!" Ryne yelled.

"What? I spend time with my boyfriend and he has to die? It doesn't make sense! Other girls get to spend time with their boyfriends, and some psycho lunatic doesn't kill them!" Mariana yelled.

"Shut up! You made him a psycho lunatic! You couldn't just say 'hi' to him in the hallway?" Ryne yelled.

"I didn't know he felt that way about me!" Mariana yelled back. "That still doesn't give him the right to kill someone!"

"You killed Mitchell. You caused Warner to go crazy! You killed your boyfriend, you're causing Warner to go to jail, you're causing me to go to jail," Ryne pointed the gun at her. "You deserve the death penalty. But you'll be considered one of the 'victims.' So, I'll take care of your death sentence for you!"

Ryne pulled the trigger.

~*~*~*~*~

_Who can say when the roads meet, ****__  
__That__ love might be, ****__  
__In your heart. ****___

****

_Now she's mine, Warner thought, even as he heard her scream Mitchell's name. He looked around, trying to figure out what to do with the body. With a little bit of luck they could blame the noise on something else. _

He saw the long row of empty lockers going down the hallway. He walked over and kicked one open. Running back to Mitchell he checked for a pulse. The boy wasn't dead yet, but he soon would be. Every ten seconds there was a flutter of a pulse, nothing more. 

He began dragging Mitchell towards the locker. He picked Mitchell up and started to figure out how to stuff him in the locker. Mitchell was heavy. The dead weight, Warner realized.

He heard Mariana and Ryne fighting inside. He shook his head. He had picked Ryne to help him because he thought he'd be able to handle her once she heard Mitchell being shot. He hadn't realized Ryne would fight with her. And blame her! For his craziness? 

He'd have to have a talk with Ryne later. He set Mitchell on the ground, tired, as he tried to figure out how to put him in the locker. Another gunshot rang through the air.

Warner turned around and glared at the door. If Ryne had hurt her he'd be dead! Warner walked towards the classroom to investigate the gunshot.

~*~*~*~*~

_And who can say when the day sleeps, ****__  
__the moon still keeps on moving ****__  
__If the night keeps all your heart? ****__  
__Night keeps all your heart... _

Alexandria had tears streaming down her face but she kept kicking her teacher, surprised at his strength and endurance to keep holding her even as she bruised his legs. 

"Mariana!" she yelled as Michael ran up. 

"Calm down, Alexandria," he said to her. 

"I can't calm down! My sisters there! Something's happening with my sister! Oh my God, I'm so scared! She's so scared! I need to get to her!" Alexandria yelled kicking even harder.

Michael walked closer and whispered in her ear, "Alexandria, you've got two lives to think of now, not just your own."

"My sisters there, Michael! I can't just sit and calmly wait to find out she's dead!" Alexandria yelled, a little more subdued now.

"You don't know that she's there," Michael said. "You don't know for sure!"

"Yes I do, Michael. Yes I do! She's there!" Alexandria shouted. The phone rang and the teacher nodded for another student to answer it, not wanting to let go of Alexandria for fear that she would run off into the gunpoint of the shooters.

"Like we haven't already been through enough hell! My father almost kills Ana, we're kidnapped, I'm raped and now this?" Alexandria shouted without realizing what she had just told her class.

Michael took a step back, stunned. "Alexandria, calm down. You're hallucinating now! You were never raped! It was…it was just a dream, remember?"

Alexandria blinked, realizing where she was and what she had just shouted. "Oh, yes! But still! We've been through enough! Ana doesn't need to die! I don't need to lose my twin!"

"Alexandria, be quiet for a moment," the teacher shouted and Alexandria glared at him. "That was a call from the principal. Someone open the window, we all need to go out there as soon as possible. Go to the parking lot and _stay there. Now!"_

The class jumped into action, running to the window and opening it. All the students were out in half a minute. The teacher walked over with Alexandria who was still kicking and screaming. "I need to go find her! She could be lying and dying and if I don't get to her, she won't make it! Let me go! I need to go find my sister!"

The teacher tried a couple times, but each time Alexandria kicked around even more so that he could not shove her out the window to Michael who was waiting for her. "I'll bring her out through the doors. Hopefully we won't come up to the shooters. She's not going out this way though."

The teacher walked away from the doors and Michael jumped back through. "What are you doing Michael? You go back out there!" the teacher shouted.

Michael shook his head. "No, I'm going with you and Alexandria."

"Fine," the teacher sighed. "Come on."

They walked out the door and peered into the hallway. No one was there. They began running, Alexandria kicking and trying to escape. Another gunshot rang through the air, and the fear drained out of Alexandria.

"Mariana!" she shouted.

She kicked her teacher in the groin. In pain he dropped her. Alexandria got up and started running down the hall, Michael following. Michael grabbed her and dragged her back. Together with the teacher, still gasping in pain, they dragged Alexandria outside the school building.

"Mariana!" she shouted again and burst out into tears.

Once the doors shut and Michael and her teacher let go of her, Alexandria burst forward, running to the doors again. Rain poured down around the students and staff standing outside. 

"You can't come in here!" one of the secretaries said.

"My sister is in there, dying!" Alexandria yelled. "Again! The second time this year! You have got to let me in there so that I can get to her!"

"You can't go back in here," the secretary repeated.

Alexandria took a step back, sobbing. "Go to hell! All of you!"

With that she took off running towards the hospital, Michael close behind.**  
  
**

~*~*~*~*~

_Who can say if your love grows, ****__  
__As__ your heart chose? ****__  
__Only time... ****___

****

Warner took in the scene before him. Ryne standing over Mariana's body. She was lying on the ground, her hand pressed against her stomach where blood seeped out of a bullet hole. Her eyes filled with pain and tears as they stared out. Every once in awhile her eyes would close before she'd quickly open them.

"You bastard," Warner said as he raised his gun and shut Ryne in the back of his head. Ryne fell to the ground, blood spattering the wall as the bullet cracked his head open.

Warner fell down before Mariana's body, some of Ryne's blood covering him. "I'm so sorry Ana. This wasn't supposed to happen. You weren't supposed to be hurt. We were…we were supposed to go on together. Lead a good life together. I'm so sorry." 

He touched one of her bloody hands. She flinched at his touch. Warner sat back, putting his hand over his shirt by his heart then moving it up to his head. He looked back at her. She was still staring at him, hatred in her eyes. He whispered, "I did this to you. I'm so sorry!"

He raised his hand with the gun up to his temple and shot a bullet through. 

Mariana watched as he fell to the side. His handprint on his shirt and head, in her blood.

After he fell to the side, dead, she took one last look at Ryne's dead body before darkness overtook her.

~*~*~*~*~

_And who can say where the road goes, ****__  
__Where__ the day flows? ****__  
__Only time... ****__  
  
_

Alexandria rushed into the ER, Michael close behind. Luka was sitting behind the admit desk, Abby rubbing his shoulders. He looked up when he heard the doors open and stood up when he saw who it was.

"Alexandria, what's wrong?" Luka asked.

"There's someone shooting in the school. Mariana was shot. I know it," she said.

Luka closed his eyes, sighed and then opened them again, "How do you know?"

"I just know. Twin thing," Alexandria said, bursting out into tears. Luka quickly walked over to her and hugged her. 

Looking over her shoulder he shouted, "Someone, go find Mariana's file, in case she comes in."

~*~*~*~*~

_Who knows? ****__  
__Only time... ****___

****

The police looked around, afraid of what they were going to find. They had heard two more gunshots. But all activity in the school had stopped, and it seemed as if the shooters hadn't moved from one area of the school. As they approached the hallway that no one used, the smell of blood reached them.

They turned into the dark hallway, thunder rumbling in the distance. Beneath the thunder they could hear the faint sounds of ambulance's stopping in front of the school.

They continued walking, shining the flashlight over the hallway. A light was on towards the middle. They walked towards it. And a body came into view.

One of the policemen in the front ran over to the body. The others turned, with the principal, into the lighted room.

"Oh my God," the Principal whispered at the sight. Three bodies strewn across the floor, two with their brains blown out, the third lying with her hand over her stomach, her chest rising as she took a breath every minute or so.

"Do you know these people?" the policeman asked.

The principal nodded. "That one is Ryne Taylor. He's friends with Warner Gardner."

"Judge Gardner's son?" the policeman asked, stunned.

The principal nodded, "And the last one is Mariana Watkins – I mean, Mariana Kovac. That's what she calls herself now that she's been adopted by Dr. Kovac."

"The girl who was stabbed by her father," the policeman said. The principal nodded his head. "Go check Ryne," the policeman told the principal then pointed to the other policeman in the room, "Go check Warner. I doubt they're alive though. I'll check Mariana."

"He's dead," the principal confirmed. 

"Here too," the other policeman said.

"She's alive," the policeman said. "But she's shutting down. We gotta get her out of here now."

He raised his walkie talkie to his mouth and spoke in it. Soon, four stretchers were in the hallway. 

"He needs to get to a hospital now! I'm doubting that he'll make it, but we gotta try!" the policeman in the hall shouted.

One of the EMT's ran over. 

"We're in here! Just bring one in now, there's only one alive in here!" the policeman by Mariana shouted. 

One of the EMT's ran in. "Which one?"

"This one," the police man replied and the EMT ran over with the stretcher.

"I've seen her before," the EMT said. "Twice, I think."

"Yeah, we gotta get her to a hospital now," the policeman said. They got Mariana on a stretcher and rushed her out behind Mitchell's.

The students outside were crying as they watched Mitchell and Mariana be placed inside the ambulances. 

Thunder rumbled, lightning flashed, students moaned and sobbed, and ambulance and police sirens screamed. The other bodies were brought out, covered by a blood-soaked white cloth as the door to Mariana's ambulance were shut and Mariana was sped off to County.

~*~*~*~*~

_Who knows? __  
Only time... _

The air in the emergency room was tense. A call came through the speakers. "We've got two criticals on the way from the high school. ETA ten minutes."

"All right," Randi said. 

"An, please come in," Michael whispered. 

"She'll be coming in," Alexandria whispered back. The tears had stopped; her face was red and puffy from having cried though. She sighed shakily, "Let's just hope she's one of those criticals though, and not heading down to the morgue."

Randi picked up the remote. We can check to see what's happening at the school on TV. Flipping the TV on the news broadcasters were saying, "And that ambulance is taking the last student from the school to the hospital. The last two ambulances are carrying the dead victims, the two ahead of them the living. The two students who are alive are in serious condition."

The weary principal and policemen crossed in front of the camera. The reporter grabbed one of the policemen. "Can you tell us about what happened?"

"All four students that were brought out are the only students who were left in the school. By time we got to them all of them had been shot. The guns were also in the school, lying by two of the bodies. That's all the information we can give out. We don't really know what happened. We can do finger-printing on the guns to try to figure out what happened, but our best bet to hear the whole story is if at least one of the students who are still alive lives. Of course, we hope neither one of them will die."

"What is their condition?"

"Critical. Very critical."

An ambulance pulled up outside and Jing-mei, Carter and Haleh rushed out. "It's not Ana!" Carter shouted as they rushed to an exam room. Alexandria peaked at the student on the stretcher. 

"Mitchell! It's Mitchell!"  Alexandria exclaimed, Michael paling at the sight of his best friend dying.

Another ambulance pulled up and Dave, Abby and Luka ran out to it. They opened the doors and the stretcher was placed on the ground, an EMT bagging the student on it.

Luka's heart leapt into his throat, "Mariana!"

They rushed her in, passing Alexandria who started screaming. 

"She's lost a lot of blood! She stopped breathing on the way here, we started bagging her," the EMT said.

"I can take over," Abby said and resumed the EMT's work. Luka looked in the file. 

"Dave, Malik's outside the door. Tell him we need some O pos blood," Luka said and closed the file.

After ten minutes Luka saw Carter, Jing-mei and Haleh walk out of the exam room next door. The rest of the ER staff had gathered outside the exam rooms and Jing-mei asked them something. 

Michael was holding onto Alexandria, who was sobbing. Luka could hear the reporters outside. Finally someone outside shakily picked up the remote planning to turn off the TV. But their fingers couldn't work and they only ended up changing the channel. But at least it wasn't a news channel, it was MTV. On the TV was a program about the life of Faith Hill. 

Luka, Dave and Abby kept working hard for an hour. Half-way through Mariana's heart stopped and they tried their best to get it going. 

Finally, after an hour, Dave and Abby both stopped. Abby patted Luka's arm and said, "Honey, she's…she's gone."

Luka stopped and then angrily threw his gloves at the wall. He pulled up a stool and sat down, staring at her body. He grabbed her hand, gripping it hard, sobbing. He was glad the blinds had been shut; he didn't want Alexandria to know what had happened until someone walked out there and told her. He looked up at the clock. Shakily he said, "T-time of d-death…" 

His voice broke up as he sobbed some more, dropping his head to Mariana's motionless body. Dave finished, giving Abby the time and Abby began to cry as she picked up the pen and jotted the time down. 

Dave tore of his gloves, staring sadly at Mariana's body. "I-I'll go tell them. Abby nodded and walked out of the way of the door so no one could see her crying. She knew they'd hear the solid beep of the monitor though. She walked over to begin disconnecting it as Dave quickly slipped out, leaving the door slightly ajar. 

Jing-mei rushed up to him and everyone inside heard her whisper to Dave, "Mitchell was DOA. Apparently he was Mariana's boyfriend. How is Mariana?"

Dave couldn't respond right away, and everyone knew what he was going to say. Alexandria screamed some more and burst out crying, sobs wracking her small body. On the TV screen was Faith Hill's music video "Breathe." It was nearing the end of the song and Abby was about to turn off the monitor when she heard a beep and then nothing. No one else seemed to hear it but her. Slowly, she turned her head towards the monitor to make sure it wasn't just her imagination, her hopes that were making this beep a working heart beat again.

Outside Faith sang:

_"Just breathe…"_

**  
  
**

**_  
  
  
_**

**_  
  
  
  
_**

**_  
  
_**

**_  
  
  
_**


End file.
